Protesters march in central London on Saturday, calling for a cease-fire within the battle between Israel and Hamas.

Henry Nicholls/AFP through Getty Images

conceal caption

toggle caption

Henry Nicholls/AFP through Getty Images

Protesters march in central London on Saturday, calling for a cease-fire within the battle between Israel and Hamas.

Henry Nicholls/AFP through Getty Images

LONDON — Hundreds of hundreds of individuals marched in London on Saturday calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, in what was the most important pro-Palestinian rally within the metropolis for the reason that Israel-Hamas battle started a month in the past.

London’s Metropolitan Police put the variety of protesters at over 300,000, whereas organizers say it may even have been one of many largest protests in British political historical past, suggesting 800,000 individuals took half within the march.

Saturday’s rally got here amid a rising political row over British Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s suggestion that London’s police had been biased of their dealing with of pro-Palestinian protests and her labeling of the protests as “hate marches.”

Protesters marched overwhelmingly peacefully via the town, assembly at London’s Hyde Park and strolling to the U.S. Embassy. The Met police reported “no issues” with the protest itself, saying that it had stuck to the prescribed route. The route for Saturday’s march, which coincided with Armistice Day, was intentionally drawn up by protest organizers to avoid London’s war memorials such as the Cenotaph, where two minutes of silence were held to commemorate the U.K. war dead an hour before the march began.

London’s police did, however, report incidents of far-right violence in the city, with about 100 counterprotesters arrested.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan blamed the far-right violence on the home secretary’s language. Scotland’s leader Humza Yousaf called for the home secretary to resign, saying the far-right had been “emboldened” by her.

The Met Police said Saturday evening that they had detained a breakaway group of 150 pro-Palestinian protesters, sometime after the main demonstration had ended.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Saturday evening that he condemned “the violent scenes we have now seen from far-right teams and Hamas sympathizers. All criminality should be met with the total and swift power of the legislation.”

Protesters present placards throughout a pro-Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

Alberto Pezzali/AP

conceal caption

toggle caption

Alberto Pezzali/AP

Protesters present placards throughout a pro-Palestinian protest in London on Saturday.

Alberto Pezzali/AP

The pro-Palestinian march drew a various crowd, with many households and kids participating.

Amanda Cattle, 60, advised NPR she thought it was all of the extra essential to march for a cease-fire on Armistice Day. “My grandfather was a soldier through the whole of the First World War. I always wear a poppy and I always commemorate, but what I really think we should be commemorating is trying to find peace and trying to stop the genocide of the Palestinians which the Israeli government is perpetrating,” she mentioned. “It’s horrific.”

Protesters made their method from throughout the nation for the march.

According to reports within the British media, the Stop the War Coalition, one of many organizers of Saturday’s occasion, mentioned coach corporations throughout the nation reported that every one their automobiles had been absolutely booked with ready lists in some areas.

Dorothy Moss, 71, traveled from Leeds, within the north of England, to participate.

“My father was a Jewish refugee, my great uncle was killed in Auschwitz,” she advised NPR.

“What is happening in Israel against the Palestinians is currently at a level of genocide. People of Jewish background should know what genocide is,” she mentioned. “We’ve had experience in our families. It needs to stop, now.”

Israel contends that it’s concentrating on Hamas, not the Palestinian individuals. Israel’s assaults on Gaza have killed greater than 11,000 individuals, in response to Gaza well being officers. It comes after Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 individuals.

Yasmin Hussein has made the two-hour journey from Bedfordshire, within the east of England, each weekend to attend the pro-Palestinian marches in London. “That’s the least we can do for the Palestinian people,” she advised NPR.

Hussein was tearful as she defined why she was there. “I’m here for the people of Palestine, for the children of Palestine, for the innocent people of Palestine. They are human beings, they have not asked for this,” she mentioned. “Just stop, please.”