Tens of thousands of individuals marched through central London, the United Kingdom’s capital, on Saturday, from Hyde Park Corner to the United States Embassy in Nine Elms south of the River Thames (a distance of four and a half kilometers), calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), this was the tenth pro-Palestinian rally since Israel launched its war on Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack on October 7 five months ago.
The rally and march followed a public statement by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak outside 10 Downing Street, in which he said “what started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence.” Decrying a “shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality,” he urged pro-Palestine marchers not to “let the extremists hijack your marches.”
The ongoing marches in the UK capital, that include Jewish activists, have opposed Israel’s continuing violence against civilians, its critical toll on women and children, and have highlighted the critical need for a just and peaceful resolution to the deadly humanitarian crisis in the occupied Gaza strip.
Saturday’s peaceful march featured a number of notable figures, including singer Charlotte Church and former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The UK government’s counter-extremism commissioner Robin Simcox wrote on March 7 that London has become a “no-go zone for Jews” during weekend pro-Palestinian marches, a charge that march organizer and Director of PSC, Ben Jamal dismissed, asserting the peaceful character of the protests.
Jamal tweeted, “So Rishi Sunak wants to deal with ‘extremists.’ Maybe he should start with politicians, political commentators and religious leaders who support a state, on trial for genocide, in its mass slaughter, and deliberate creation of famine. Not those protesting against it.”
London’s Metropolitan Police, whom PM Sunak in the same “extremists” speech had given the green light to “police” not just “manage” the protests, reported no substantial public order disruptions during the event. Four people were arrested on suspicion of public order violations, although one person arrested for assault following a confrontation between demonstrators and counter-protesters was later released.
During the march which coincided with International Women’s Day, protestors demanded an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza that has caused more than 31,112 deaths, 72% of those children and women, and 72,760 wounded.
Humanitarian non-governmental organizations in Gaza continue to warn of famine, with at least 25 deaths now attributed to malnutrition and dehydration.