An estimated 100,000 protesters took to the rainy streets of central London on Saturday to demand protection for Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire of the Gaza War.
The National March for Palestine, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at London’s Marble Arch and at Parliament Square, near Downing Street.
Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and held placards demanding an end to the Israeli government’s bombardment of Gaza in the wake of the deadly Hamas attack within Israel.
Tu Seanan, 40, a university lecturer who attended the protest told i: “People are here from across the world in London, not in the name of governments that are giving support to Israel.
“We’re protesting the humanitarian crisis that has opened up in Gaza and this attack taking place against innocent people: the ongoing occupation, the ethnic cleansing and the killing that is taking place right now. We are here to say no.”
Julian Alington, 55, who also attended the march said had travelled to London from Portsmouth to show his support for Palestinians.
“We’re here today to make the numbers up and be here to shout and we’re angry about this,” he said. “It’s important to be here for the Palestinian people – the way they are being indiscriminately killed is disgraceful.”
Thousands of other people also attended pro-Palestine rallies in Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and Birmingham today.
The conflict began when Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, launched a deadly incursion into Israel on 7 October, carrying out massacres and indiscriminately murdering civilians. 1,400 people were killed, and up to 200 taken hostage.
Israel has responded with a wave of air strikes it says are aimed at destroying Hamas. At least 4,385 Palestinians have been killed through Israeli air and missile strikes, including more than a thousand children, according to the Hamas-run Gazan Health Ministry, while nearly half of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced from their homes.
This evening the Metropolitan Police said its officers are speaking with demonstrators outside the Israeli Embassy, in Kensington, London.
It comes as footage, which has not been verified by i, has been shared on social media, purportedly showing protesters marching towards a line of police officers outside the embassy.
In the clip officers are heard shouting “get back” at the crowd.
The Met said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Officers are on scene on Kensington Hight Street, Bayswater Road and outside the Israeli Embassy.
“There are groups of protesters on both Kensington High Street and Bayswater Road who officers are engaging with.”
The force also revealed 10 arrests have been in conjunction with the protests relating to offences involving fireworks, public order and assaulting an emergency service worker.
It added five officers received minor injuries as it tackled protesters.
Ahead of the protest, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, reiterated the UK’s continued support of Israel’s right to defend itself.
He also called on Hamas to secure the release of British hostages and ensure emergency aid can get into Gaza.
On the streets, chants of “free, free Palestine” and “1, 2, 3,4, occupation no more” rang out across the city.
One such protestor was Rabbi Beck, 56, who said: “We are here for solidarity Palestinians, especially in Gaza. To help bring out a Jewish voice that keys are not Zionists.
“The problem is not a religious problem, the problem is of occupation. Jews can live in peace with Palestinians. For centuries we lived together, across the Middle East.”
Ann, 71 told i, “I’m Jewish and I’m ashamed that Israel is acting in our name to promote this huge desecration of rights.
“It’s such a horrible situation that it’s so unjust. Israel has taken retribution. They’re already over 4,000 dead and all the destruction of the buildings. I think, how are people going to rebuild their homes when there’s a blockade?
“I want to see a ceasefire immediately and for the killing to stop. They need to allow humanitarian aid in, otherwise all of this is just going to add to more hatred for more generations and make peace even further away.”
Photos on social media showed Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square had been defaced with graffiti reading “Free Palestine”.
The force said in a statement: “Whitehall is now mostly clear with a small demonstration remaining at the gates to Downing Street.
“Officers are now focusing their efforts on clearing Trafalgar Square, as fireworks have been launched at officers from within the crowd.”
Some of those marching on Saturday chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, despite an ongoing controversy around the slogan, which Jewish groups say advocates for the destruction of Israel by referring to Palestinians seizing control across its national borders.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan anti-Semitic – while groups including the Board of Deputies, Jewish Leadership Council and the Community Security Trust have asked prosecutors to clarify if chanting the slogan is a criminal offence.
However, those who defend the slogan claim it is a “long-standing protest chant” that calls for a homeland for the Palestinian people.
Omar, 21, whose family are from Gaza, said of the controversy: “From the river to the sea, in Palestine, that’s the land that they want restored to them, because that’s what was taken from them. It was all Palestine at one point.
“They want everything back, which I don’t see as a possible solution because there’s no way to have everything back, because there are people living there now.”
A Tube driver was meanwhile criticised for leading a chant of “free, free Palestine” over the tannoy on a London Underground train.
Minister for London Paul Scully said staff should “focus on the day job” and warned against stoking tension in the capital.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat added: “London’s tubes are for everyone. Many will find this intimidating.”
British Transport Police Assistant Chief Constable Sean O’Callaghan said the force was “aware of footage circulating on social media which suggests chants are led by driver of a train in London earlier”.
“BTP are working with Transport for London and investigating the matter.”
Police said they were also reviewing footage from a separate protest run by the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir in which a man can be seen chanting “jihad, jihad”.
Officers “identified the man involved and spoke to him to discourage any repeat of similar chanting,” the Met said, but “specialist officers have assessed the video and have not identified any offences arising from the specific clip”.
Additional reporting by Press Association
