A large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The protest coincided with the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, an event marking the mass displacement of people following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The Metropolitan Police revealed they had held talks with the protest organisers, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, to minimise disruption.
Simultaneously, a counter-demonstration by a pro-Israel group, Enough is Enough, took place at Piccadilly Circus. Ch Supt Colin Wingrove, supervising this weekend’s policing operation, said that the pro-Palestinian march was the 14th such event. As a result of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last year, over 1,200 people lost their lives, and more than 240 were kidnapped.
Israel then launched an attack on Gaza that has resulted in over 35,000 fatalities, according to the territory’s authorities. Protesters, many carrying “ceasefire now” placards, sang and chanted as they walked from Regent’s Street to Whitehall, where speeches were made. Sources revealed that one protester, Sandi, a Palestinian with family in Gaza, had not been able to contact them for more than ten days due to a lack of internet access. She spoke of the suffering endured by those in the region who have no access to adequate safety, food, medical aid, or freedom of movement.
Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos stated that he was attending the demonstration to support the Palestinian people and protest against what he called the Israeli leaders’ “misuse of the memory of the Holocaust”. Kapos added that the misuse of the Holocaust by Israeli leaders is an insult to his family, an insult to the Holocaust’s memory, and an insult to the era’s suffering.
The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign described the protest as a call to action “to end the genocide in Gaza”. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice, the world’s top court, is presently hearing a case submitted by South Africa in January, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel has rejected these claims. The court is not expected to deliver a judgement on the genocide case for several years
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