LONDON: Tens of thousands of protesters marched in London on Saturday demanding a permanent ceasefire in the war between the Zionist entity and Hamas, as a temporary truce largely held in Gaza. It was the latest large pro-Palestinian demonstration in the British capital since the unprecedented Oct 7 Hamas attacks on the Zionist entity unleashed the latest conflict in the Gaza strip.

“The occupation needs to end. We need a full ceasefire and not a four-day ceasefire,” Alaa Hassan, a 24-year-old wellbeing practitioner, told AFP. The demonstrators waved pro-Palestinian banners and chanted slogans as they walked through central London to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster. Some 1,500 police officers were on duty for the protest, including 500 that had been brought in from forces outside of London.

The demonstration was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition. “We come to show our solidarity and tell the Palestinians they are not alone, we are thinking about them and we are not gonna stop until they are free,” said 25-year-old student Leila Talhi. London police have made hundreds of arrests for alleged hate crimes since the attack. Showing support for Hamas is an offence in Britain, where the organization is classified as a terrorist group. — AFP