Over the weekend, tens of thousands of people marched through central London in solidarity with Palestine, calling for an immediate end to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), Saturday’s protest was the first to go near the Israeli embassy in west London since a static rally in October. The event was largely calm and peaceful, despite 1,500 police officers being deployed to police the protest. However, six people were arrested for various offences.
BBC News reported that at the start of the march, tens of thousands of people gathered at Marble Arch, with many demonstrators saying that it was one of the busiest marches they had attended. The PSC has criticised the government and Labour for their refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire, with the campaign group’s Ben Jamal stating that there was “mounting pressure from world leaders” on Israel. “The moral imperative is clear. An immediate ceasefire is a simple, absolute necessity,” he added.
Protests have also taken place in Sydney and Istanbul. The conflict began in early October, after Hamas fighters burst through Israel’s border, killing around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking around 250 others back to Gaza as hostages. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claims that more than 28,600 people, mainly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s campaign. Israel insists that its aim is to destroy Hamas and secure the return of hostages.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for a pause to fighting to get aid in and hostages out, and a “sustainable ceasefire”. Meanwhile, the foreign secretary has said that the government supports a “move from a pause – to get aid in and hostages out – towards a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a long term political solution, including a Palestinian state”. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also spoken out, stating that “we all want to get to a ceasefire” in Gaza, but he stopped short of calling for an “immediate” ceasefire
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