Across dozens of towns and cities in the UK, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters took part in rallies and sit-ins calling for an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza. The action included a sit-in at the Edinburgh and Glasgow rail stations, with protesters stopping travellers from catching trains, and sit-ins on London’s Oxford Street. The Metropolitan police say there were 30,000 people attending demonstrations in central London alone.
The protests were organised by the Stop the War coalition, and encompassed a series of local protests in neighbourhoods, towns and cities across the UK. The protests have been a regular occurrence on Saturdays since the start of the war last month and have generally been larger in scale.
In contrast to this past weekend’s smaller protests, there are plans for a mass rally on Armistice Day next Saturday in London. The event has been criticised by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who suggested that war memorials, including London’s Cenotaph, could be “desecrated”. Home Secretary Suella Braverman also expressed concerns, calling the event “entirely unacceptable”. The police are planning a “significant” policing and security operation for the upcoming rally.
The protests that took place so far have been largely peaceful, although there have been several arrests. In London alone, 11 people were arrested, including one for displaying a placard that could incite hatred, and another two for assaulting a police officer and committing a public order offence. Two past protests in London have resulted in 99 arrests. Despite the arrests, the protests continue to include a wide range of people from different backgrounds, including lots of families with children
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