Tens of thousands join Palestine solidarity march in central London

Tens of thousands of people joined a Palestine solidarity march in central London calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) started in Hyde Park Corner and finished up outside the US Embassy in Nine Elms.

It is the 10th pro-Palestinian march in central London since Israel started its campaign in Gaza following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas.

Amongst those in attendance included Welsh singer Charlotte Church and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

A large police presence was at the demonstration with Scotland Yard ruling for the march to end at 5pm.

The Met Police said five arrests were made at the march on Saturday March 9, which included four on suspicion of public order breaches and one for assault.

The march comes after the government’s counter-extremism commissioner said that London had become a “no-go zone for Jews” at the weekend.

It also comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak’s recent remarks on extremism and “mob rule” linked to protesters.

Christine, 40, who joined the protest with her mother said the government is trying to crack down on the right to protest.

“It's one of our fundamental rights to protest and they’re trying to erode that. They’re cracking down on this. I’m surprised it's even been allowed to go ahead. The police presence is so much more than usual,” Christine told LondonWorld.

“They’re trying to take away our right to assembly, our right to protest and these are just fundamental rights as a democracy is supposed to have and cherish.”

“They want to brand it “hate marches” and “extremists”. I’m sorry if opposing a genocide is extreme I guess then that maybe I am an extremist,” she continued.

“It's full of families, it's full of old people, it's full of people from different walks of life and it's peaceful. It's always been peaceful. I've never seen anything other than that.

“They say there are no Jews joining the marches. Jews make up a huge block of the people protesting. You’ve got the Orthodox Jews that come out on a Saturday. They walk in to be part of these protests.

“They’re just trying to take away our rights.”

Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis in the territory and the UN has warned that famine in Gaza is "almost inevitable".