Met Police keep pro-Palestine protesters and Israel supporters apart as thousands join latest Gaza demo march to US’s London Embassy_Nhy
Thousands of pro-Palestine protestors marched through the capital on Saturday in one of the largest demonstrations seen in London since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas.
Demonstrators holding Palestinian flags and placards gathered in Whitehall and marched to the US Embassy in Vauxhall, south-west London.
The Metropolitan Police had earlier said it was prepared for a ‘significant policing presence’ to halt clashes with counter-demonstrators amid claims by organisers Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) that hundreds of thousands would attend.
Many were galvanised to march today after a proposal made by President Donald Trump for the United States to consider taking ownership of the Gaza Strip.
Mr Trump suggested the US could redevelop the war-torn territory into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’.
Today’s action marked the 24th major pro-Palestine protest held in the UK since October 2023.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was spotted at the front of the march carrying a placard with the slogan ‘stop arming Israel’.
Protestors could be heard from a distance away chanting ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ through their speakerphones.
Thousands of pro-Palestine protestors marched through the capital on Saturday in one of the largest demonstrations seen in London since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas
Demonstrators holding Palestinian flags and placards gathered in Whitehall and marched to the US Embassy in Vauxhall, south-west London
The Metropolitan Police had earlier said it was prepared for a ‘significant policing presence’ to halt clashes with counter-demonstrators amid claims by organisers Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) that hundreds of thousands would attend
The controversial phrase has been linked to calls for the elimination of the state of Israel or for the ethnic cleansing of Jewish people living there to be replaced with Palestinians.
One angry man also shouted ‘this is my country’, among the chaos of thousands of demonstrators blaring Arabic music and chanting ‘free Palestine’.
John Hamilton, 69, from London, held a placard featuring two Swastikas to ‘draw comparisons between the Zionists and the Nazis’, inside an evidence bag after he was arrested for brandishing the same sign at a march in November 2023.
Fellow protester Anna Siddall, 26, from Yorkshire, said: ‘I think a lot of people are losing what it means to be a human on this planet at the moment.
‘The evil is fascism, which is causing what is basically ethic cleansing and genocide. No one seems to be calling it what it is or acknowledging what it is.
‘The aim is to make change happen…through protest and civil unrest.
‘It’s shameful, to be called a Labour government and speak about people that are dying in a dehumanising manner is shameful. All they’ve done is keep you distracted.’
Sophie George, 26, who also traveled to the protest from Yorkshire added: ‘Labour were voted in as a change from the Tories and they do not back anything apart from the one per cent.’
Many were galvanised to march today after a proposal made by President Donald Trump for the United States to consider taking ownership of the Gaza Strip
Footage posted by Stop The Hate on social media shows one demonstrator raising his right arm towards counter-protesters as he walked by amid claims he made a Nazi salute
As tears streamed down his face, Edward Hulme, 77, from St Albans said: ‘We’re standing up against genocide. It’s as simple as that.
‘I always think, in the 1930s when Hitler was moving against the Jews, if people had stood against the Nazis then this wouldn’t have happened. People don’t stand up and take notice.
‘The Government has egged the Israelis on – they’re still providing arms to them, they’re behind this. I think the Government is complicit in the genocide and they could stop it. I hold them accountable.
‘The only violence I’ve ever seen at a protest is from police on demonstrators.’
Claudia Page, from Brighton, said: ‘I’m here to support Palestine and to make it clear that we will not support any kind of US takeover.
‘It’s absolutely not Trump or the US’s place to go in and carve off a part of the Middle East, which they want to turn into a piece of beach front real estate.
‘This is people’s homeland, they have a right to remain there and rebuild the devastation that has been created by this awful war.
‘It’s not a real estate opportunity for the US.’
The march came just hours after Hamas released three hostages: Israeli-Argentinian Yair Horn, 46, Israeli-American Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Israeli-Russian Sasha Troufanov, 29.
They were released by Hamas on Saturday morning in exchange for 369 Palestinian prisoners, amid concerns the ceasefire would collapse before the sixth such exchange could take place.
US President Donald Trump had warned earlier this week that ‘hell’ would break loose if Hamas failed to release ‘all’ remaining hostages by noon on Saturday.
Following the release of the hostages, the Palestinian prisoners were freed – with four being taken to hospital due to their ‘critical health condition’, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Protesters travelled from across the country to join in today’s march organised by the PSC
John Hamilton, 69, from London, held a placard featuring two Swastikas to ‘draw comparisons between the Zionists and the Nazis’, inside an evidence bag after he was arrested for brandishing the same sign at a march in November 2023
Munir Malik, 40, from Kent added: ‘People need to make a stand that Trump’s comments aren’t acceptable. Trump said Gaza is a total dead zone and no one wants to live there – he’s talking about the fact that it’s destroyed, not the people who destroyed it.
‘We need to focus on the destruction caused by Israel so there can be justice for everyone involved.
‘The strip isn’t for anyone to take over apart from the Gazans. It doesn’t belong to anyone apart from the people who have lived there. It’s not even up for discussion.’
Hundreds of police in protective gear lined the streets to prevent any potential clashes with counter-demonstrators.
Stop the Hate supporters brandished Israeli flags at the junction of Vauxhall bridge.
The group was separated from passing PSC demonstrators by metal barriers guarded by scores of police.
Met Police said earlier today that it had imposed conditions under the Public Order Act in relation to routes, assembly areas and start and finish times, to ensure disruption is minimised, it said.
Commander Glen Pavelin said breaching conditions, or inciting others to do so, would amount to a criminal offence.
Yair Horn speaks as Sagui Dekel-Chen (left) and Sasha Troufanov (right) stand on the stage alongside him during Saturday’s hostage release by Hamas
At the time of publication, Met Police had not announced any arrests being made, although there was evidence of some antagonism between demonstrators and counter-protesters.
Footage posted by Stop The Hate on social media shows a demonstrator raising his right arm towards counter-protesters as he walked by amid claims he made a Nazi salute.
