LONDON - About 100,000 people joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London on Saturday, marching through the British capital to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Israel two weeks ago.
Chanting "Free Palestine", holding banners and waving Palestinian flags, the protesters moved through London before massing at Downing Street, the official residence and office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Police estimated 100,000 people had taken part in the "National March for Palestine" demonstration, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
"As a Palestinian who'd like to return home one day, as a Palestinian who has brothers and sisters in Gaza, and family, I wish we can do more but protest is what we can do at the minute," one woman, who declined to giver her name, told Reuters.
Many of the chants and banners contained strong anti-Israeli slogans, and one protester held a banner with pictures of Sunak, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the message "Wanted For War crimes".
Police had cautioned before the march that anyone showing support for Hamas, banned as a terrorist organisation in Britain, would face arrest, and any incident of hate crime would not be tolerated.
The protest appeared peaceful and there were no immediate reports of any arrests.
Figures on Friday showed there had been a 1,353% increase in antisemitic offences this month compared to the same period last year, while Islamophobic offences were up 140%.
"This has been an issue which has long stimulated passions and we are now all seeing on social media and in our communities, how divisive and polarising the current situation has become," British foreign minister James Cleverly said at a peace summit in Cairo.
'We stand here in solidarity with the Palestinian people as we believe in right to self-determination, right to live free from fear,' one protestor tells Anadolu
Aysu Bicer | 21.10.2023
LONDON
London witnessed another massive pro-Palestine demonstration on Saturday as thousands took to the streets to express their solidarity.
Aiming to raise awareness about the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a sea of demonstrators filled the British capital's streets throughout the demonstration, which began at noon from the Marble Arch, one of London's iconic landmarks and continued through the heart of the city.
In a passionate expression of support for Palestinians, many in the diverse crowd held placards displaying messages including "Stop Bombing Gaza," "Stop Apartheid State Israel," and "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free," while the Palestinian flag was prominently displayed.
The rally was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in collaboration with the groups Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Its route took the demonstrators through Park Lane, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, and Trafalgar Square before culminating at Whitehall.
The event took place against a backdrop of heightened communal tensions in London, which necessitated increased police presence in certain areas of the city.
Protesters and speakers voiced their concerns about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness and calling for peace and justice in the region.
"For decades, the Palestinian people have endured tremendous suffering, violence, and injustice. It's our moral obligation to raise our voices and demand a just and lasting resolution to this long-standing conflict," a protester named Neil told Anadolu.
"We stand here in solidarity with the Palestinian people because we believe in the universal values of human rights. We believe in the right to self-determination, the right to live free from fear, and the right to pursue a life of dignity," said another, Dane.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Palestinian group Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
At least 4,385 Palestinians, including 1,756 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.
Earlier on Saturday, a humanitarian convoy of 20 trucks began to enter the Gaza Strip from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, the first since the armed conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7.
Pro-Palestinian protests take place in London, Birmingham and Salford
REUTERSThousands of people are taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest in London for the second consecutive weekend.
The Met Police estimated up to 100,000 people joined the march, which was due to end in a rally near Downing Street.
It comes as the first aid deliveries have reached Gaza since Israel imposed a blockade after a Hammas attack on 7 October killed 1,400 people in Israel.
Palestinian health officials say more than 4,000 people have since died in Israeli bombing.
Smaller pro-Palestinian demonstrations has also been held in Birmingham and outside Media City in Salford.
The Met Police said more than 1,000 officers were involved in policing the London event.
Assistant commissioner Matt Twist said the Met acknowledges "strong views on these issues", adding "we will be objective and act without fear or favour".
REUTERS
Israel cut off supplies of fuel, electricity and water to Gaza after Hamas's military wing broke through the border into Israel, killing people and taking more than 200 hostages.
Meanwhile, about 1.4 million Gazans have been displaced with more than half a million people in 147 UN shelters, the UN says.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has warned the conflict is threatening to engulf the Middle East.
Mr Cleverly has visited Israel, Turkey and Qatar as part of diplomatic efforts around the worsening crisis in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Speaking at the Cairo Peace Summit, he said: "This has been an issue which has long stimulated passions and we are now all seeing on social media and in our communities how divisive and polarising the current situation has become.
"So we have a duty to work together to prevent instability from engulfing the region and claiming yet more lives."
Protesters on the London march were heard chanting a slogan that some use to call for Palestinian control of all land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including Israel.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said the slogan "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", calls for the destruction of Israel.
She has previously urged police chief constables to "consider... whether its use in certain context may amount to a racially aggravated" offence, though the Met has said the chant alone does not constitute a criminal act.
Meanwhile, the Community Security Trust (CST), which provides security to Jewish communities, has said it is aware of plans for a smaller protest in Golders Green, an area of north London with a large Jewish population.
The group said it was speaking to police about social media posts calling for a gathering in the area. It urged people "to be vigilant and maintain good personal security".
BBC News has contacted the Metropolitan Police over the reports.
Protesters take to the streets of Cardiff in pro-Palestinian march
More than a thousand protesters took to the street of Cardiff in a pro-Palestinian protest today.
Waving Palestine flags and supportive placards they marched towards the Welsh Parliament.
The protest was organised by several groups who are calling on the British and Welsh governments to insist on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and for “full humanitarian aid” to be sent in.
Maggie Morgan, from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign Cardiff, told the BBC: “We are taking to the streets as a show of solidarity to the people of Gaza, to show our support for them, but also to make the government listen, and say ‘not in our name, we’re not having this.'”
The Cardiff protest was one of many around the UK has thousands of people protested in support of the besieged Gaza Strip in London and other UK cities.
Gallery of pro-Palestine march in Cardiff
The Metropolitan Police said “up to 100,000” took part in a pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday, with other rallies in Cardiff, Glasgow and Birmingham.
Others protested outside the BBC’s MediaCity headquarters in Salford, Greater Manchester, over its reporting of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Gaza Strip has been blockaded and bombarded by Israel after its Hamas rulers launched a series of terrorist raids on October 7.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians attacked in the October 7 incursion. Over 4,100 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Thousands gathered at Marble Arch in central London for Saturday’s march, clutching signs emblazoned with “Freedom for Palestine” and “Stop Bombing Gaza”.
Chants included “Judaism yes, Zionism no, the state of Israel must go”, and “5, 6, 7, 8, Israel is a terrorist state”.
Protesters also chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, despite controversy around the slogan’s meaning.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously branded the slogan antisemitic and claimed that it is “widely understood” to call for the destruction of Israel.
Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies of British Jews, 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 describe it as a “long-standing protest chant” that calls for a homeland for the Palestinian people.
Bias
A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters held a separate demonstration in central London on Saturday calling for “Muslim armies” to rescue the people of Palestine.
The group of around 100 people stood on Balfour Mews, just off the street from the path of the main protest.
Speakers addressed the crowd in Arabic and a large banner read “Muslim armies, rescue the people of Palestine”.
In Salford, the BBC was accused of “bias” in its coverage of the conflict.
Martin Odoni, from Eccles, who attended the rally, said: “I’m Jewish and every time Israel commits an atrocity it claims it’s doing it in the name of Jewish people.
“I think it’s my duty to come out here and show, actually, a lot of Jews do not support what Israel is doing. An awful lot of us are not Zionist at all.
“When they’re massacring Palestinians I more than don’t approve, I utterly condemn it.”
On his criticism of the BBC, he added: “Well, look at the headlines they put up.
“When Israelis are killed they say these Israelis were killed by Palestinians.
“When Palestinians get killed, it’s Palestinians died when Israel attacked.
“There’s a blatant bias in the way the BBC reports these events and somebody’s got to tell them.”
The BBC has also been been criticised over its use of language to describe Hamas and its coverage of the immediate aftermath of the bombing of a hospital in Gaza City.
BBC director general Tim Davie met the Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl and its chief executive Michael Wegier on Friday to discuss their “outrage” at Hamas being described as militants instead of terrorists.
No comments:
Post a Comment