Middle East Eye – Oct 5, 2024
Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli-led escalation across the Middle East.
The protesters filled the main streets of London, gathering outside Downing Street, the residence of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Organized by groups such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PCS), participants traveled from across the country to join the event. Organizers said an estimated 300,000 people came out on the streets.
Although the rally remained largely peaceful, the Metropolitan Police reported 17 arrests during the demonstration.
Former First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, participated to highlight the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Speaking to Sky News, Yousaf condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The attacks in Lebanon are being condemned by the United Nations,” Yousaf stated. He emphasized, “What we’re seeing here is not about being pro-Arab, pro-Muslim, or pro-Palestinian. It’s about being pro-humanity. We demand that people are held accountable under international law.”
Protesters blocked main roads, holding signs that read: “Shame on those who looked away from the sadistic genocide of mainly children in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Many demonstrators criticized the new Labour government led by Starmer, displaying posters that read, “Starmer has blood on his hands.” Others waved Lebanese and Iranian flags, carrying banners that proclaimed “we do not stand with genocide” and “Zionism is racism,” while many chanted “free, free Palestine.”
Condemning the actions of the Netanyahu Government is not anti-Semitic.
Those on rallies up and down the country aren’t pro-Arab, or simply pro-Palestinian, but pro-humanity.
When tens of thousands of children are being slaughtered, how can you justify silence and inaction? pic.twitter.com/Emx4pM5oYS
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 5, 2024
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With thousands continuing to attend PSC marches approximately every three weeks, both the campaign group and the Metropolitan Police acknowledge that this is the largest protest movement in recent British history, surpassing even the historic 2003 anti-Iraq war demonstrations.
In an interview with The Guardian, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist noted that the past year has marked “the busiest period in terms of protests that we’ve ever had,” with major demonstrations occurring at a much higher frequency than previously observed.
“In addition to the [pro-Palestinian] marches, we are now seeing counter-protests, as well as a rise in what I would call cultural nationalists, or what some might characterize as right-wing groups, which have also increased resource demands,” he stated.
“We are concerned about the widening and deepening of the conflict and its implications for this country, particularly for London, across a range of issues. Our planning assumption is that these protests will continue.”
The Metropolitan Police has organized its response to all protests related to the Israel-Gaza war under the codename “Operation Brocks,” which has thus far cost £46.8 million and involved 60,000 shifts by local officers and 9,600 shifts from forces outside London
Global pro-Palestinian protests
In Cape Town, South Africa, hundreds marched to parliament, chanting “Israel is a racist state” and “We are all Palestinian,” according to AFP. Pro-Gaza marches were also planned in Johannesburg and Durban on Saturday.
In France, hundreds of people took to the streets in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, and Strasbourg to show solidarity with the Palestinians, as noted by AFP journalists.
Several thousand gathered in Basel, Switzerland, for a pro-Palestinian demonstration, calling for a ceasefire, economic sanctions on Israel, and an end to Swiss scientific collaboration with the country, as reported by the Keystone-ATS news agency.
Additional pro-Palestinian protests were scheduled over the weekend and on Monday in cities including New York, Sydney, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Manila, and Karachi.
This protest comes nearly a year after the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which began on 7 October, 2023, following Hamas’s multi-pronged offensive into southern Israel.
In a series of attacks on Israeli military installations and civilian areas, more than 1,100 Israeli soldiers, security personnel, and civilians were killed, most by Hamas and other Palestinians, with many deaths also resulting from Israel’s Hannibal directive.
Additionally, 250 Israeli soldiers and civilians were taken captive and held in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are women and children.
The Lebanese health ministry also reported that since 8 October of last year, ongoing Israeli attacks have resulted in 2,036 deaths and 9,653 injuries.
Since October 2023, at least 77 healthcare workers have been killed while on duty, with nearly a third of these deaths occurring within just 24 hours between 2 and 3 of October 2024, according to the UN’s World Health Organization.
Scotland yard said close to a million people marched
nthe government must start listening to its people
Tony Blair still cannot go out in public without a team of bodyguards
this bastard killed a million innocents in iraq
and all for the dirty jews
How much did MI6 spend on flags?
Oh look, we let them demonstrate, because we’re not Nazis. lol
Where are the Dombas genocide protestors, or the UKraine war protestors? Maybe we should have a protest against Maghan’s jigglely tits, because replacement Kate doesn’t have anything to jiggle?
Thanks. It was a wonderful experience in London last Saturday. A deeply peaceful yet quite angry crowd, absolutely huge. At the end there war far too many police (in their yellow vests), we could have had ten times less IMO: they so often tend to start the violence by being pushy.
As usual we weren’t allowed to use Trafalgar Square to meet in, why not? Its a public space.
There was a brilliant speech by Jeremy Corbyn.
This morning I listened to ‘Talk TV’ on the radio, complaining that the police had not arrested more people on that demo!
As you report – three hundr4ed thousand, is that not he biggest demo London has seen for years?
I side with Israel for now: Jews are genocidal, take it or leave it, and Moslems are nihilists now at work in Europe while our leaders pretend not to notice. We will one day need to do what Israelis already do
There IS hope for (the) Hoi Polloi after all!👏👏👏
10 to 1 all these pro-Palestinian demonstrators are anti-white Commies. When are whites going to organize & march against ‘Whiteocide’– instead of marching for wog causes?
you know, this Crowley guy makes good posts
What was interesting to notice when the Saxon was rioting over the killing of three white girls by some wog animal some months ago in England, was that the mobs of Commie ‘counter protestors’ were waving the Palestinian flag. Now we see whose side they’re on as Crowley points out.
@lewis
why side with either (Jews/Arabs)? both are scum
The whole situation is such a boor.
Notice the police do nothing when hordes of wogs, antifa scum & white commies march, but when ‘white fascists/nationalists’ organize an event the police attack & arrest them..
Go fuck yourself ,dick bollox-strom.worthless geezer.multi culturalist piece of misery.fake holo x activist.friend of corbyn.you are crap.had a good time with your foreigner friends?do you worship baallah too.and eat humus.tss.you are exactly what is wrong with white shitsacks,traitors and cowards.better the muslims opress you and rape you
Why don’t you organise a march for the besieged white englanders?those that bought your books and half -truths.your followers.you got nothing to lose.you have lived long enough,and well.why not be a hero of your fellow racial peeps.
@MOSLEY
LOT OF WHITE SCUM !
Mosley/Nico X–the Conspiracy being what it is, only Jews are allowed to kill Moslems, so I would help them and hope for some sort of avalanche towards us doing the same thing (and not a flood of “Palestinians” etc. into Europe). With the point of a knife in Salman Rushdie, Islam showed us what it thinks of cerebral work