Pro-Palestine marches in London will continue until the war is called off, one of their organisers has promised.
The large-scale marches have caused disruption throughout the capital city, as protesters have gathered in their thousands to call for a ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war.
The latest march on December 9 had approximately 100,000 take part, organiser Ben Jamal claims.
Jamal, director of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, said: “We’ll keep marching until a ceasefire is called.
Palestine marches could go on for MONTHS! 'We’ll keep marching until a ceasefire is called'
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“What we plan to do with the extraordinary support and solidarity we’ve seen over the past few weeks is channel it into our campaign to end to all UK complicity with Israel’s oppressive state, by the government, public bodies, companies and corporations.”
Last Friday, the UK chose to abstain from a vote calling for an immediate ceasefire at the UN Security Council meeting.
The call was backed by 13 out of 15 countries who voted, however the UK abstained. A veto from the US stopped the vote for the cessation dead in its tracks.
“The fact that our government is one of only two, alongside the US, that did not vote in favour of that motion is shameful,” Jamal said.
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Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through London on SaturdayPA“That’s why we’re out marching in protest to say ‘you do not represent us!’”
The Palestinian Solidarity Campaign group has been organising national and local protests across the UK since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
They are the largest organisation in the UK dedicated to supporting Palestine, with 80 branches and 15 national trade unions.
The demonstration moved from Bank Junction to Westminster, with many holding signs reading "Free Palestine” and “End the siege”.
Some protesters chanted: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.”
Pro-Palestine protesters have taken to the streets of London in the last few months
PAThe controversial slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free", was also chanted by the protesters.
Some 13 protesters were arrested, the Metropolitan Police said.
Many were arrested for holding offensive placards.
The Met Police said one woman was arrested after the force’s specialist Voyager CCTV monitoring team identified her as being wanted for an offence that took place at a previous protest on 28 October.
A man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after "officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany", the force said.
Saturday's was the first protest since a week-long pause in the fighting came to an end last week.