Thousands join pro-Palestinian march in London

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through central London on Saturday, reiterating calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protest marked the 76th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba – the mass displacement of people following the creation of Israel in 1948.

The Metropolitan Police said it held “regular discussions” with organizers of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign to minimize unrest.

A counter-demonstration by the pro-Israel group Enough is Enough took place in Piccadilly Circus at the same time.

Supt Colin Wingrove, who is leading this weekend’s police operation, said: “All Londoners have the right to have their voices heard, just as they have the right to live their lives without fear or being subjected to serious disruption.” .

The pro-Palestinian march was the 14th such event in London since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 kidnapped.

After the October 7 attack, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that killed more than 35,000 people, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health, managed by Hamas.

Protesters, some of them carrying “ceasefire now” signs, were heard chanting and shouting as they walked from Regent’s Street to Whitehall, where they gathered for speeches.

One protester, Sandi, a Palestinian who has family in Gaza, said she had not heard from her family in the last 10 days.

“The internet connection is down, so sometimes it takes longer – weeks – before I don’t hear from them,” she told the BBC.

“Like everyone else in Gaza, they suffer from a lack of security, access to food, internet, medical care and freedom of movement.”

Stephen Kapos, a Holocaust survivor, said he attended the march to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to protest what he described as the “misuse of Holocaust memory” by Israeli leaders.

“It’s an insult to my family, an insult to the memory of the Holocaust and an insult to the suffering of that period. I’m protesting this. Not in our name,” he said.

The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said protesters were calling “again for action to end the genocide in Gaza”.

The UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), is considering a case brought by South Africa in January, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel rejected the claim as false and “grossly distorted.”

The ICJ is not expected to issue a ruling on the genocide case for several years.