British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday condemned far-right protesters and Hamas sympathizers, as hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through London calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Nearly 2,000 police were out in force to keep rival groups apart, with the march organized on Armistice Day, the annual event when Britain remembers its war dead with solemn ceremonies at war memorials.
The march went ahead after a week of tensions, which saw the government call for it to be scrapped, and police said they made scores of arrests.
Photo: Reuters
About 150 people from the mass protest were detained under public order legislation for wearing face coverings and setting off fireworks, while 82 counter-protesters were held to prevent them infiltrating the main march.
Groups of men, many wearing black with their faces covered and waving England’s St George’s flag and the Union Jack, tried to break through police lines at The Cenotaph war memorial on Whitehall.
Police in riot gear then faced a barrage of bottles in nearby Chinatown, the Metropolitan Police said.
Photo: Reuters
“I condemn the violent, wholly unacceptable scenes we have seen today from the EDL [English Defence League] and associated groups and Hamas sympathisers attending the National March for Palestine,” Sunak wrote in a statement.
“The despicable actions of a minority of people undermine those who have chosen to express their views peacefully,” he wrote.’
Sunak, who has resisted calls for him to back a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas, said that far-right “thugs,” anti-Semitic chants and pro-Hamas signs and clothing had marred remembrance weekend.
“All criminality must be met with the full force of the law,” he added.
The march, organized by the Stop the War Coalition, is the biggest yet in London since Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took about 240 hostage on Oct. 7.
The Israeli military campaign in response has left just more than 11,000 people in Gaza dead, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.
Huge crowds waved black, red, white and green Palestinian flags and held aloft placards proclaiming “Stop Bombing Gaza,” shouting “free Palestine,” “ceasefire now” and “Israel is a terror state.”
Police estimated that 300,000 people had turned out, while organizers put the figure at 800,000, putting it on a par with the huge numbers who marched in the British capital against the Iraq war in 2003.
“Forget the political stance, forget everything else, you can’t stand around while people are getting killed,” said Shiraz Bobra, 41, who had traveled from Leicester.
He said he would come every week until a ceasefire is enforced.
“I feel for the Palestinians because their land is occupied and their occupiers can be cruel” Roman Catholic priest Father John McGowan said, adding that he hoped for a two-state solution.
The number of arrests on Saturday topped those from all previous pro-Palestinian marches combined, which have seen people detained for hate crimes and showing support for Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK.
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