London: Counterprotesters fight with police at Gaza demo
November 11, 2023
More than 300,000 people took part in a pro-Palestinian march in London on Saturday, police said. It's the latest and biggest so far in a series of weekend protests held in the British capital since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas last month.
The protesters called for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The march coincided with Remembrance Day, when the United Kingdom commemorates the end of World War I, prompting some UK lawmakers to call for the march to be stopped.
Police said the demonstration was peaceful, but far-right counterprotesters were involved in violent clashes with the police, leading to almost 100 individuals being arrested.
Skirmishes between police and counterprotesters
Counterprotesters attacked police near the Cenotaph war memorial, close to the Houses of Parliament and in Westminster.
Police said later that they had arrested 82 counterprotesters in an effort to keep the peace, as far-right groups had tried to get close to the pro-Palestinian rally. Another 10 arrests were made for other offenses.
"We will continue to take action to avoid the disorder that would likely take place if that happened," police said in a statement on social media.
Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf and London Mayor Sadiq Khan blamed British Home Secretary Suella Braverman for emboldening the far-right.
Braverman accused police this week of being more sympathetic to so-called left-wing protests than others and favoring "pro-Palestinian mobs."
Even though government ministers called for the march to be banned, London Police Commissioner Mark Rowley rejected the calls, saying the march did not meet the legal threshold for requesting a government order to stop it.
Prime minister condemns both sides
Protesters have been marching through London for weeks following Israel's response — a massive aerial bombardment and ground offensive into Gaza — to the terror attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and 239 were taken hostage, according to the Israeli government.
More than 11,000 people in Gaza have been killed, many of them children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
On Saturday, pro-Palestinian protesters in London could be heard chanting slogans like "free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," a rallying cry that is viewed by many as a call for Israel's eradication.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said it was disrespectful to hold the rally on Armistice Day, and lawmakers considered banning the march.
He later condemned both protesters and counterprotesters, who he said had "disrespected" the armed forces.
"That is true for EDL (English Defence League) thugs attacking police officers and trespassing on the Cenotaph, and it is true for those singing antisemitic chants and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today's protest," Sunak said.
sri/ab (Reuters, AFP)