Over 80,000 people filled the streets of London on Saturday in one of the Palestine protests ongoing since October 2023, demanding an end to the UK’s support for Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Organized by the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) and partners in the Palestine Solidarity Coalition, the demonstration marked 21 months of relentless bombing, forced starvation, and mass killing, with the crowd echoing one cry:
“We will not be silent.”
From the stage in Whitehall, Dr Mohammad Mustafa, a UK-based Palestinian surgeon recently returned from Gaza, held up the bloodstained scrubs he wore while treating patients under bombardment:
“These scrubs carry the blood of the people I couldn’t save. Women. Children. Patients whose names I’ll never forget. I wear them here because they can no longer speak, and someone must.”
“I was denied entry into Gaza, not because of what I did in hospitals, but because I told the truth. But they will never take my voice. And today, I raise it for Gaza, for those still holding on, and those who never made it.”
Dr Mustafa also revealed that a family member was recently shot and killed while queuing for food at a Gaza distribution site:
“He wasn’t holding a weapon. He wasn’t on the frontlines. He just wanted to feed his children… This is not a tragedy, it’s a policy.”
Fares Amer, speaking on behalf of PFB, added:
“The Palestinian Forum in Britain has joined the rest of the Palestine Solidarity Coalition today in one of the largest marches in recent history to protest the ongoing starvation of the Palestinian people, demanding that the United Kingdom does everything in its power to stop the starvation, stop arming Israel, and end the genocide.”
The protest saw a diverse line-up of high-profile speakers, including Jeremy Corbyn, Richard Burgon MP, Zoe Garbutt, Leanne Mohamad, Jo Grady (UCU), Steve O’Donnell (Unite), Jen Brister, Nadine Shah, Ambassador Husam Zomlot, Ahmed Eldin, Ruth Lukom (Jewish Bloc), and many others.
Raghad Tikriti, speaking on behalf of MAB, drew haunting comparisons between Gaza and the Srebrenica genocide, marking its 30th anniversary last week:
“Never again is a lie. It’s been shattered, torn apart by bombs raining down on Gaza, and the silence that shields the perpetrators… This government is quicker to reprimand musicians than to condemn mass graves.”
“There will be a reckoning, for every official who approved the arms, for every broadcaster who distorted the truth, for every government that gave cover to genocide.”
Ahmad Baker, a Palestinian nurse and activist, honored the 1,580 Palestinian health workers killed in Israeli attacks:
“My heroes. My role models. I feel elevated to call them my colleagues, and devastated to know they were murdered in plain sight.”
“They made the impossible real, a live-streamed genocide. But if they can do that, so can we. We will see Netanyahu in The Hague. And we will see a free Palestine.”
Leanne Mohamad, the British Palestinian activist, addressed the crowd with a heartfelt message:
“We are here to mourn the thousands who have been murdered, and to honor the courage of those still standing. But we are also here to demand action, because silence is complicity, and Britain’s silence is deafening. If our leaders won’t speak up, then we will speak louder.”
The demonstrators also condemned the UK government’s continued arms sales and political support for Israel, including hosting the head of the Israeli Air Force, Tomer Bar, just days before the protest.
“This is not war gone wrong, this is orchestrated genocide,” said Ismael Patel, founder of Friends of Al-Aqsa. “They want us silent, because they fear what our voices are doing.” “No amount of repression can erase the truth,” said Tikriti. “And no matter how long it takes, Palestine will be free.”
Saturday’s protest is part of what has become the longest-running protest movement in modern British history, with demonstrations in London every few weeks since October 2023. Organizers vowed that they would continue until justice is done.
Meanwhile, British police officers detained scores of activists of the recently-banned Action Palestine group while participating in pro-Palestine demonstrations on Saturday.
London Police said in a statement that 55 activists were rounded up in Westminster, London, for hoisting placards that supported Palestine Action group.
For its part, Defend Our Juries group said that the London Police had detained 100 members of the Action Palestine activists, bringing the total number of those detained since the group was outlawed early July to 200.