- Thousands marched in London demanding a Gaza ceasefire
- Pro-Palestinian rally marked the Nakba’s 76th anniversary
- Seven arrests made for various offenses during the protest
Saturday, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators reaffirmed their demands for a ceasefire in Gaza as they marched through the heart of London.
The demonstration coincided with the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, a term used by Palestinians to denote the widespread exodus of individuals following the establishment of Israel in 1948.
To minimize disruption, the Metropolitan Police stated it had engaged in “regular discussions” with the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) organizers.
A counter-demonstration was simultaneously held at Piccadilly Circus by the pro-Israel organization Enough is Enough.
Seven arrests were reported during the PSC event, according to the Metropolitan Police. Officers intervened in situations involving “offensive placards and chants, violence, and sexual assault.”
“Carrying a coffin with offensive language on it” led to the arrest of one individual, according to the force.
A further 22-year-old male was detained on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
Police reported that a 74-year-old male was arrested during the counter-demonstration on “suspicious grounds of inciting violence.”
Ch Supt Colin Wingrove, who oversaw the policing operation this weekend, stated that officers “acted swiftly to apprehend individuals suspected of committing criminal offenses.”
The pro-Palestinian march marked its fourteenth iteration in London after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the loss of over 240 lives and the destruction of 1,200 others.
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In Gaza, Israel launched an offensive on October 7 that has claimed the lives of over 35,000 individuals, according to the health ministry of the territory, which Hamas operates.
It was observed that protestors, some of whom were bearing placards reading “ceasefire now,” were chanting and singing their way from Regent’s Street to Whitehall, where they had gathered to hear speeches.
Sandi, a Palestinian dissident with family in Gaza, reported that it had been ten days since she had received any communication from her relatives in that region.
She explained that the internet connection is occasionally down, leaving weeks without hearing from them.
They, like the entire population of Gaza, lack security, access to sustenance, the internet, medical assistance, and freedom of movement.
Demonstrators, according to the PSC, are once more demanding “action to end the genocide in Gaza.”
A case filed by South Africa in January petitions the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations, to adjudicate allegations of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza by Israel.
The claim has been disputed by Israel as “grossly distorted” and “false.”
A decision from the ICJ regarding the genocide case is not anticipated for several years.
