Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters gathered in central London to mark two years since the start of the war in Gaza, a day after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect.
Protesters marched along the Victoria Embankment before ending with a rally close to Downing Street on Saturday afternoon, the event’s organisers Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said.
Stalls selling keffiyeahs stood along the River Thames as the demonstration began, while people handed out placards that read “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, “it’s not a crime to act against genocide” and “Starmer has blood on his hands, free Palestine”.
Meanwhile, a counter-protest by Stop The Hate took place at the junction of Aldwych and the Strand, with police putting measures in place to “prevent serious disruption” between the two groups.
The Met Police reported that a “small group” of counter-protesters had breached its conditions by demonstrating at the form-up area of the pro-Palestine march, leading to a “scuffle between several individuals from the two groups”.
Officers had to separate those involved and made a “small number of arrests”, police said.
After the pro-Palestine demonstration dispersed, the Met Police confirmed it had made 14 arrests in total during the day, including seven for breaching conditions under the Public Order Act.
Other arrests were made for offences including supporting a proscribed group and affray, the force added.
At one stage during the event, police had ushered away a group of people carrying placards saying “We stand with Britain’s Jews” before the march set off and took them out of the crowd of pro-Palestine protesters.
Another sign, decorated with the image of a bee in the Star of David, read “It was never about Palestine, it was always about hate”.
Shouts of “shame” and “free Palestine” came loudly from the pro-Palestine crowd gathered along Victoria Embankment as they were led away shortly before 12.45pm.
The pro-Palestinian protest was the 32nd national demonstration in support of Palestine since October 2023, according to PSC.
Last weekend, the Government announced that police would be given greater powers to restrict protests by allowing them to consider the “cumulative impact” of repeated demonstrations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said repeated large-scale protests had caused “considerable fear” for the Jewish community.
The Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the plans, but that “at this time, the law remains unchanged”.
Calls for restraint were made following the terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester on October 2 in which two people were killed, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews”.
Protesters shouted “from the rivers to the sea, Palestine will be free” as they marched towards Westminster on Saturday, a chant that Sir Keir has suggested the Government may crack down on.
Some consider the slogan to be antisemitic as they believe it calls for the eradication of Israel, while proponents of the chant claim they are calling for an end to conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.
Your Party co-founder Jeremy Corbyn walked at the front of the crowd across Westminster Bridge, helping to carry a large banner that said “National march. Free Palestine”.
He stayed silent as a woman using a megaphone led the “from the rivers to the sea” chant, and “Keir Starmer you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide”.
Fellow Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana later criticised the Home Secretary for switching sides on Palestine and “locking up pensioners and priests for opposing the ban on Palestine Action”, who she described as “heroes”.
The Independent MP for Coventry South said Shabana Mahmood “doesn’t want to just ban demonstrations, she wants to criminalise dissent – she wants to send a message that if you march for Palestine, if you speak out against genocide, if you demand justice, then the state considers you the problem. Shame on her.”
From a stage outside Downing Street, she said that in 2014 Ms Mahmood took part in two demonstrations for Gaza: Lying on the floor of a Sainsbury’s supermarket and weeks later addressing “a Palestine protest like this” with expressions of compassion.
Today “she is locking up pensioners and priests for opposing the ban on Palestine Action and calling them terrorists – they are heroes”, Ms Sultana said.
“The real terrorists are the war criminals that continue to drop bombs on Gaza and the politicians here in Britain who welcome them with open arms – shame on them”, she added.
At stage during the protest more than 25 police officers escorted a handcuffed woman away from the pro-Palestine demonstration as she shouted “because I said coconut I have been arrested”.
As police walked her away at around 1.45pm, the woman shouted: “This is Islamophobia, because I said coconut I have been arrested, for what is a legal word in English; the word coconut is not illegal, it has been proven in a court of law.”
A large stationary crowd of counter-protesters waving Israeli flags blared loud music as they faced more than a hundred thousand pro-Palestinian protesters passing from Waterloo Bridge on to the Strand.
A deafening loud speaker blared heavy rock metal music that included lyrics “you can stick your Palestine up your hole” and ended with the line “you’re not welcome anymore”, before someone on the megaphone shouted “Shalom losers”.
A blue “make America great again” flag was flown at the front of the counter-protest, as well as several Union flags.
The Stop The Hate counter-protest blared Lily Allen’s song F*** You from the speakers, as a man sang from a microphone “f*** you” and said “bye, bye, bye see you never”.
Ben Jamal, PSC director, said the group will “never stop” supporting Palestinians to “achieve a free Palestine”.
Of the protest this weekend, he said: “This is a movement supported by millions of people in this country and around the world who want freedom and justice for Palestine.
“That work will go on. Because we know Israel is capable of breaking the ceasefire at any time, as it has done on every previous occasion. And we know this ceasefire based on (US President Donald) Trump’s plan does nothing to address the root causes of Israeli occupation and colonisation of Palestine, and its system of apartheid against Palestinians. It also does nothing to hold those responsible for genocide to account.
“The rights of the Palestinian people are enshrined under international law – they are inviolable and non-negotiable. They will never give up those rights, and we will never stop supporting them to achieve a free Palestine.”
The demonstrations come as tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in Gaza following the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The Israeli military said on Friday that the ceasefire agreement came into effect at noon local time (10am BST).
The pause in the two-year war in the Middle East follows Hamas agreeing to release the remaining hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
News of the ceasefire agreement came just two days after the second anniversary of October 7, the attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel.
