Gaza protest: Tens of thousands march in London calling for ceasefire

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators have marched through central London calling for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

It was the first London march since Armistice Day, when more than 100 counter-protesters were arrested.

Six people were arrested – others were detained for setting off flares.

The march coincided with a four-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, aimed at freeing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

On the second day of the truce on Saturday – and as more hostages were expected to be released, Hamas announced it was delaying the process. It accused Israel of breaking the terms of the deal by not allowing enough aid to reach northern Gaza. Israel has denied this.

Organisers of the protest, which marched from Park Lane to Whitehall, estimated that some 300,000 people attended. The Metropolitan Police did not give a number.

Four people were arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and two on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation.

The Met said the breakaway group from the main central London protest had been detained to be searched after marching up Whitehall and setting off flares, which it said had previously been used against officers.

The force said it was using powers under the Public Order Act to prevent further marches on Saturday.

The Met has been under pressure for weeks over its handling of the now-regular demonstrations, with pressure from senior politicians for officers to come down harder on alleged displays of antisemitism.

Ahead of the protest, police said they would issue leaflets warning people about words or images that could break the law.

The force said some 1,500 officers would be on the streets on Saturday with instructions to protect war memorials following criticism that police have not stopped protesters climbing on them.

The Met also said it was planning to position Arabic-speaking officers on the march, backed up in its central control room with lawyers to advise on whether specific phrases break the law.

Protesters carrying Palestinian flags were seen with placards demanding a permanent ceasefire in the conflict, while some referenced the slogan “from the river to the sea”.

The language is interpreted by Israel and most Jewish groups as an expression of a desire to see Israel erased from the world, though pro-Palestinian activists contest this, saying it refers to “the right of all Palestinians to freedom, equality and justice”.

So far, the temporary truce is still holding and follows weeks of fighting and Israeli bombardments of Gaza, with the conflict sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented cross-border attack in southern Israel that saw 1,200 people killed.

Speaking at London’s march, a pro-Palestinian protester played down the long-term significance of the temporary ceasefire.

Shaun, 33, from north London, said: “I don’t know what’s going to come from it, I don’t know if it’s positive, but I know full well that once this truce and temporary ceasefire are done they (Israel) are going to continue bombing and we’re going to be right back where we were, so I’m not holding my breath.”

Marches are also being held in Glasgow and Cardiff.

Asked about the Met’s leaflets, march organiser Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said police had been placed under “considerable pressure” by politicians to be more aggressive in their policing of the demonstration.

“The leaflets reassert what everybody knows, which is that there are laws against hate speech, there are laws for showing support for proscribed hate organisations – so I’m not sure what the leaflets add,” he said.

Separately, a different protest was held by the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir outside the Egyptian embassy.

It is the first by the group since 21 October, when video emerged showing a man chanting “jihad”, prompting an outcry from politicians. The Met found no offences were identified from the clip.