Thousands of demonstrators filled central London on Saturday to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, calling for an end to Israel’s occupation and demanding that the UK suspend arms sales to Israel.
Protesters gathered at Hyde Park Corner before marching through the capital and concluding with a rally in Whitehall. The event was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), together with the Stop the War Coalition and several British trade unions.
PSC said on X that “thousands” turned out despite heavy rain, adding: “We demand our government #StopArmingIsrael and pressure it to stop committing genocide against the Palestinian people.”
Ben Jamal, PSC’s director, said in a video message that the UN established the solidarity day in 1977 to draw attention to Palestinians’ denied right to self-determination and to highlight the reality of “brutal occupation.” He said the annual commemoration has since come to represent “the complete failure of the international community” to hold Israel accountable.
Jamal noted that while only around 12,000 settlers lived in East Jerusalem and the West Bank in 1977, the settlement population has now grown to nearly 750,000. The decades of “impunity,” he argued, paved the way for what he described as “the genocide we have all been witnessing.”
He also criticized the most recent UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, saying it “does not enforce international law” and effectively hands governance of Gaza to the United States, leaving Palestinians “without a say in their own future.”
Jamal accused the UK government of enabling Israel through diplomatic backing and continued arms exports.
London’s Metropolitan Police placed restrictions on the march, saying the measures were designed to safeguard the right to protest while reducing disruption in the city.
The Palestinian Mission in the UK issued a message of gratitude, writing: “We thank all the freedom-loving people in Britain for standing with us… Palestine will be free with your unwavering support.”
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, set in 1977, reaffirms Palestinians’ inalienable rights, including self-determination, national independence, sovereignty, and the return of refugees displaced in 1948.
According to Palestinian and international agencies, Israel has killed nearly 70,000 people—mostly women and children—and injured more than 170,000 in Gaza since October 2023. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israeli forces have simultaneously intensified operations in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war began. More than 1,085 Palestinians have been killed and about 10,700 injured, while over 20,500 have been arrested.
In a landmark advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and called for the dismantling of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=69904
