Thousands Rally In UK Cities In Solidarity With Palestinians
London, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 15th Oct, 2023) Thousands of people rallied Saturday in London and other UK cities for pro-Palestinian demonstrations, amid police warnings that anyone showing support for Hamas could face arrest.
Demonstrators marching through the heart of the British capital were shadowed by a heavy police presence of more than 1,000 officers.
Similar rallies took place in Manchester in northern England, the Scottish capital Edinburgh, and other cities.
In London, demonstrators massed near BBC news‘ headquarters before an afternoon rally near Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street office and residence.
Parts of the entrance to the building in central London‘s Portland Place, where the rally started, were left splattered with red paint thrown by protesters from the Palestine Action group.
Some held Palestinian flags and placards — bearing slogans such as “Freedom for Palestine“, “End the massacre” and “Sanctions for Israel“.
Chants of “Rishi Sunak, shame on you” could be heard.
“I think all just people around the world, not just in Britain, must stand up and call for this madness (to end),” Ismail Patel, chairman of the Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign, told AFP at the demonstration in the capital.
“Otherwise, in the next few days, (we) might see a catastrophe unfolding.”
The rallies come as Israel intensifies its war to destroy Hamas, relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip and deploying tens of thousands of soldiers nearby ahead of an expected ground offensive.
That follows last Saturday’s attack by Hamas, which saw hundreds of its fighters cross the Israeli border to take hostages and kill more than 1,300 people on the streets, in their homes, and at a rave party.
