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Participants in the first major demonstration of the year in support of the Israeli-attacked Gaza Strip gathered in London’s St. James district around midday on Saturday. According to the Metropolitan Police, several people were arrested directly in the park. The demonstrators then marched through the city of Westminster and the police stopped them in Parliament Square near Big Ben, writes the British newspaper The Guardian.
In response to the attack on Israel by terrorists from the Hamas movement on October 7 last year, the Jewish state launched a bombing and subsequent ground invasion in the Gaza Strip.
A Reuters reporter said there were several small clashes during the London protests. According to him, the demonstrators, no longer able to reach the bridge where they were supposed to unfurl the banners, occupied the surrounding streets.
The aim of the protest is to persuade British politicians to take a tougher stance towards Israel. The event took place two days before British MPs returned from their Christmas break.
According to The Guardian, the demonstration, organized by the Free Palestine Coalition, called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to the occupation of Palestine and called on Britain to stop selling arms to Israel.
Hundreds of protesters blocking Westminster Bridge sat or lay on the ground and refused to leave the bridge. The crowd chanted “One, two, three, four, the occupation is over”, clapped and shouted “Liberate Palestine”, people held up flags and banners and called on the British government to support Palestine.
According to the Guardian, some participants wore masks of politicians, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden, and their hands were smeared with red paint.
The police then ordered the protest to end and, according to their own statements, the crowd began to disperse around 3:00 p.m. Police warned protesters that they could be arrested if they did not leave the site, writes Reuters.
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