At Rallies in Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Other UK Cities, Thousands Show Support for Palestinians

Tens of thousands of people participated in pro-Palestinian rallies on Saturday in London and other UK cities, despite police warnings that anybody demonstrating sympathy for the violent organization Hamas may be arrested. More than 1,000 police officers were heavily deployed as protesters marched through the center of the British capital.

Similar demonstrations also took place in other UK towns, including Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland and Manchester in northern England. Before a gathering in the late afternoon outside Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office and house, protesters gathered close to the BBC News offices in London.

Red paint was thrown by protestors from the Palestine Action organization, covering portions of the entryway of the Portland Place building in central London, where the march began. Israeli and Palestinian supporters of both sides have criticized the station. Some carried Palestinian flags and banners with messages like “Sanctions for Israel,” “Freedom for Palestine,” and “End the massacre.” The phrase “Rishi Sunak, shame on you” was repeatedly chanted.

“I think all just people around the world, not just in Britain, must stand up and call for this madness (to end),” Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign head Ismail Patel told AFP during the event in the capital. If not, “we might witness a catastrophe unfolding over the course of the next few days.”

‘WITHOUT ISSUE’

The protests take place as Israel ramps up its campaign to eliminate Hamas, hammering the Gaza Strip mercilessly and stationing tens of thousands of troops nearby in preparation for an anticipated ground attack. This comes after the Hamas onslaught from last Saturday, in which hundreds of its members crossed the Israeli border, took hostages, and killed more than 1,300 people in the streets, in their homes, and at a rave.

As the events hundreds of miles abroad resonate in Britain and worldwide, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said that it deployed more than 1,000 police on Saturday. According to the force’s most recent report, the demonstration went off “without incident,” and seven people were arrested. According to the statement, eight further arrests were made later on amid “small pockets of disorder and unacceptable criminality” in neighboring Trafalgar Square.

They concerned claimed fireworks displays in public areas, alleged attacks on emergency personnel, and alleged violations of public order. Nine police officers received minor injury treatment. Prior to the Hamas attack, police and the government had seen an increase in anti-Semitic crimes and occurrences in the UK.

A 22-year-old woman was detained by police on Friday in Sussex, southeast England, on suspicion of giving a speech endorsing Hamas. Members of a terrorist organization that is prohibited in Britain, as well as anyone found guilty of encouraging support for it, may face up to 14 years in prison.

Cobyn Speech

The Met maintained that supporting Hamas was illegal this week while stating that generic displays of solidarity for Palestinians, such as displaying the Palestinian flag, were not crimes.

Student from Uzbekistan Ferouza Namaz, 34, participated in the London demonstration and said that Gaza’s residents were “completely innocent.” “The right to murder them does not simply accrue to Palestinians. These awful crimes against humanity have been committed for so long, he said.

In the Gaza Strip and other Palestinian areas, Israel asserts that it does not intentionally target civilians. Speaking at the London demonstration was Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the major opposition Labour party, who was accused of enabling anti-Semitism to develop during his four-year party reign.

“If you believe in international law, if you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening right now in Gaza by the Israeli army,” the now-independent congressman added.

Sunak, on the other hand, reiterated his unshakable support for Israel on Saturday, saying that Britain stands behind it “not just today, not just tomorrow, but always.” “No words can even begin to describe the horror and barbarism unleashed in Israel a week ago,” he said.