Thousands protest in London against renewed attacks on Gaza

On Tuesday, 18 March, thousands gathered outside the British government headquarters in London, including many Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims, despite the protest coinciding with Iftar. They rallied against Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza and to pressure the UK government to stop exporting weapons to the occupying forces.

The demonstration was organised by the Palestinian Forum in Britain, alongside its partners in the UK Palestine Coalition, which includes the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of Al-Aqsa, and the Muslim Association of Britain.

Speakers included Fares Amer from the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Ben Jamal from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Alex from Stop the War Coalition, Janine Hourani from the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Yasmine Adam from the Muslim Association of Britain, among others.

Adnan Hmidan, Deputy Chair of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, voiced protesters’ frustration over the UK government’s backtracking on Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s recent remarks condemning the blockade on Gaza. He pointed out that while Lammy’s statement was weak and lacked real action, even that was not upheld. Hmidan also reminded British officials—who had previously urged an end to protests once a ceasefire was in place—that Israel does not honour its commitments or respect agreements. Its latest breach of the truce and return to mass killing is proof of that.

The protest saw a heavy police presence, but demonstrators remained firm, vowing to keep up the pressure until the UK government takes a clear and responsible stance on Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

READ: More than half of Gaza’s martyrs in the occupation’s aggression were women and children