More than 300,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday, with police arresting over 120 people as they sought to stop far-right counter-protesters from ambushing the main rally. The arrests followed scuffles between the police and far-right protesters from right-wing groups on Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War One, involving commemorations of Britain's war dead.
#London #ProPalestineMarch #LondonProPalestineProtest #LondonPolice #ArmisticeDay #LondonPoliceArrests #FarRightCounterProtesters #CounterProtestersArrested #IsraelHamasWar #Gaza #PalestineWar #ProPalestineProtests #RishiSunak
~HT.99~PR.152~ED.101~
#London #ProPalestineMarch #LondonProPalestineProtest #LondonPolice #ArmisticeDay #LondonPoliceArrests #FarRightCounterProtesters #CounterProtestersArrested #IsraelHamasWar #Gaza #PalestineWar #ProPalestineProtests #RishiSunak
~HT.99~PR.152~ED.101~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 More than 300,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday,
00:17 with the police arresting over 120 people as they sought to stop far-right counter-protests
00:23 from ambushing the main rally.
00:26 The arrests followed scuffles between the police and far-right protesters from right-wing
00:30 groups on Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, involving commemorations
00:36 of Britain's war dead.
00:38 The National March for Palestine is the latest in a series to show support for the Palestinians
00:42 and call for a ceasefire from Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
00:46 Tensions had been running high before Saturday's march, the biggest in a series to show support
00:51 for the Palestinians and call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Interior Ministers
00:55 Vela Brabhamin called them "hate marches" led by mobs.
01:00 Ministers had called for it to be cancelled because it falls on Armistice Day.
01:04 London's Metropolitan Police had refused ministerial requests to block the event, saying
01:09 they did not have indications that there would be serious violence, straining relations with
01:14 the government.
01:16 Police said far-right groups opposing the march were present in central London in significant
01:20 numbers, leading to skirmishes with officers near the Cenotaph War Memorial close to the
01:25 House of Parliament and in Westminster.
01:28 Officers in riot gear sought to contain the far-right protesters, some of whom threw bottles
01:33 at them, and police vehicles sped around the city to respond to reports of tensions in
01:38 the streets.
01:39 Police said in a statement late on Saturday that they had arrested 126 people so far,
01:44 the majority of whom were right-wing protesters who formed part of a group several hundred
01:49 strong which police said included football hooligans.
01:53 The extreme violence from right-wing protesters towards the police today was "extraordinary
01:58 and deeply concerning," Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said, adding that a knife and knuckle
02:03 duster were found during searches.
02:05 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the violence seen at the Cenotaph War Memorial and also
02:10 attacked Hamas sympathisers who joined the bigger rally, singing anti-Semitic chants
02:15 and brandishing pro-Hamas signs and clothing on today's protest.
02:19 Sunak called for the police to take a tough line.
02:22 All criminality must be met with the full and swift force of the law, he said in a statement
02:26 late on Saturday.
02:27 "That is what I told the Met Police Commissioner on Wednesday.
02:31 That is what they are accountable for and that is what I expect," he said.
02:35 Police said that more than 300,000 had joined the pro-Palestinian rally, while organisers
02:40 put the figure at 800,000.
02:43 Some marchers chanted "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," a rallying cry
02:48 viewed by many Jews as anti-Semitic and a call for Israel's eradication.
02:54 Others carried banners reading "Free Palestine," "Stop the Massacre" and "Stop Bombing Gaza."
03:00 Since Hamas' assault in southern Israel on October 7, there has been strong support and
03:04 sympathy for Israel from Western governments, including Britain's and many citizens.
03:08 But the Israeli military's response has also prompted anger, with weekly protests in London
03:13 demanding a ceasefire.
03:14 For more UN videos visit: www.un.org/webcast
03:22 Subscribe to One India Channel and never miss an update.
03:25 [MUSIC]