LONDON - Protestors chanting “free, free Palestine” have finished their central London on Saturday, which called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), started at Hyde Park Corner and finished at the US Embassy in Nine Elms. It is now expected that those gathered will hear speeches.
A large police presence can be seen in central London as marchers sing out: "What do we want? Ceasefire; when do we want it? Now", and the controversial slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".
The British Singer Charlotte Church has joined and said her presence is to “show solidarity with the people of Palestine for all that they are suffering through”.
“I am here today to call for an immediate ceasefire, to ask our government and governments all over the world to send as strong message as we possibly can,” the singer said.
“But a strong, a peaceful a loving message, that’s what every single march that I’ve been on for Palestine has been about.
“There’s been singing there’s been drumming, yes, there’s been emotion, but in the majority that emotion has been love, has been compassion because that’s why we’re all here.
“We’re all here because we cannot bear what we’re witnessing. We cannot bear to see civilians, children, women slaughtered.
“And so we are here because our hearts are so full of love for the Palestinian people.”
The protest comes after the government’s counter extremism tsar warned that the activists were turning London into a “no-go zone for Jews” each weekend.
This claim has been disputed.
The Metropolitan Police said a “robust” policing plan is in place with officers drafted in from across the UK.
The pro Palestine marches have been held since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 leading to a retaliatory campaign of bombing and invasion of the Gaza strip.
More than 30,900 people have since been killed in Gaza, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says, and the amount of aid reaching civilians has plummeted.
The UN has warned that a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death.
