Thousands join protest calling for ceasefire between Israel and Hamas

Thirteen arrests have been made, said Scotland Yard, 'mostly for offensive placards'

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they marched from Bank to Parliament Square on Saturday.

While the protest was largely peaceful, at least 13 people were arrested, with police saying most arrests were for "offensive placards".

The march began at Bank Junction at midday and finished with speeches in Westminster later in the afternoon, following a route that took it past St Paul’s Cathedral and Somerset House.

People on the march held signs with the words “Free Palestine” and “End the siege”.

Some protesters chanted: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.”

Protesters in Trafalgar Square on Saturday
James Manning/PA Wire

They also chanted the controversial slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

An exclusion zone was in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.

Scotland Yard also issued a dispersal order, covering Westminster and a large area of central London until 1am.

"Anyone in the area who is directed by an officer to leave and fails to do so can be arrested," the force said on X, formerly Twitter.

The Metropolitan Police tweeted shortly after 5pm that 13 people had been arrested, "mostly for offensive placards but some for other offences including possession of drugs and obstruction".

It added that the area around Whitehall had largely been vacated following the protest.

The force earlier tweeted that a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

“As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany,” it said on X.

“He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.

The Met later said another arrest had been made "for an offensive placard".

The force said one woman was arrested after its specialist Voyager CCTV monitoring team identified her as being wanted for an offence that occurred at a previous protest on October 28.

A post advertising Saturday's protest on Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s website said: “Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.”

Previous weekends have seen thousands of protesters and counter-protesters converging on the capital.

Earlier on Saturday, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.

“Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm,” it said.

It came after the UK chose to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza – a motion that was vetoed by the US.

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