Tens of thousands attend pro-Palestinian march in London

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in central London a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza came into force.

The demonstration, organized by the Palestine Coalition, began on Saturday afternoon along Victoria Embankment; Participants then marched to Whitehall, where a rally was held.

The footage showed a row of Palestinian flags being carried across Westminster Bridge, while a small group of counter-protesters gathered nearby, many holding Israeli flags and banners calling for the return of hostages.

The Metropolitan Police said a small number of arrests were made following a “fight” between two groups.

He said a small group of counter-protesters had violated the terms of the Public Order Act by “demonstrating at the starting point of the Palestine Coalition protest”, which led to the altercation.

“Officers quickly arrived on scene to separate those involved,” police said.

When the protest started, keffiyeh scarves were sold on the stalls, and people handed out banners to the protesters. Slogans such as “Stop the armament of Israel” and “Free Palestine” were seen during the march.

Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the groups participating in the action, said that they “will never give up” supporting the Palestinians.

Ben Jamal said Israel “could break the ceasefire at any time” and that the ceasefire plan “does nothing to address the root causes” of the conflict.

Speakers at the rally described the US-brokered ceasefire as a positive but “precarious” development, adding that they would not stop protesting until Palestinians were fully liberated.

This comes just days after the prime minister said the UK government could consider further restrictions on protest laws. Targets some chants used in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to “go further” with measures announced a week ago by allowing police forces to do so. wider powers to restrict repeated protests.

He also called for such protests to be postponed after the election. Terrorist attack on synagogue in Manchester Demonstrators were called to “respect the suffering of British Jews” in the incident that led to the death of two Jews last week.

But, Demonstrations in support of the Palestine Action group continued last weekNearly 500 people were arrested in central London.

The Met said 488 of the arrests were for supporting a banned organisation, with the youngest being 18 and the oldest being 89.

The Israeli army launched an operation in Gaza in response to the attack on southern Israel led by Hamas on October 7, 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, including more than 18,000 children.