Pro-Palestine protesters blocked roads at three key junctions in central London to highlight the situation in Gaza.
Youth Demand activists blocked Holland Park roundabout, Euston Road outside King’s Cross station and a key junction in Holborn on Saturday, calling for the government to impose a trade embargo on Israel.
Protesters were seen chanting “free the people, free the land” as they lit flares in the street in Holland Park. Meanwhile, traffic could be seen building up nearby.
On the other side of central London, protesters waved flags and chanted “shut it down for Palestine” on Euston Road. Activists also chanted “stop bombing Gaza” as drivers waited for the road to clear.
🚨 BREAKING: THIRD LONDON LOCATION BLOCKED
— Youth Demand (@youth_demand) August 2, 2025
Youth Demand supporters have now blocked Holland Park roundabout in Shepherd's Bush, calling for the UK government to implement an immediate trade embargo on Israel.
Young people are standing against genocide: https://t.co/XaaraJnu7r pic.twitter.com/gU9F6Yev2w
Drivers were then seen beeping their horns in frustration as protesters held flares up in Holborn, while a cyclist looped around the activist with a Palestine flag attached to the back of his bike.
Youth Demand explained its activists had blocked the roads to demand “an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.
The group wrote on X: “By arming Israel, our government is complicit in the bombing and starvation of millions.”
Youth Demand, an offshoot of Just Stop Oil’s youth wing, has been demanding that the UK government impose a full arms and trade embargo on Israel and immediately halt the development of new oil and gas projects.
The group, which describes itself as leaderless but guided by a "strategy team", previously said politicians had committed a “betrayal of our generation,” and warned of an “unimaginable outbreak of collective power, creativity, love and defiance.”
Youth Demand had vowed to “shut down” London by swarming the capital’s roads and holding demonstrations during a month-long period of action in April.
The group held several protests across the month, briefly closing roads. At the end of April, two Youth Demand activists jumped the barriers at the London marathon and threw red powder paint in the air moments before the elite men’s race ran over Tower Bridge.
