A massive protest occupied much of London on Saturday, chanting slogans against the state of Israel and supporting the Palestinian cause. The demonstrations included a clash at a crucial British war monument and came on the nation’s commemoration of the end of the First World War.
The protests on Armistice Day filled a number of roads and one major bridge. The “National March for Palestine” was organized by a number of Islamic and far-left political organizations.
Prior to the demonstrations, some of the protesters clashed with police at the nation’s national monument, the Cenotaph. The stone structure commemorates the country’s losses in World War I.
During the pro-Palestinian protests, one sign read “You’re either on the White side of history or the right side of history.” On the “White” side, there were pictures of Israeli, American, British and French flags. The “right” side included the Palestinian flag.
Several individuals selling poppies to commemorate the war dead were accosted by the protesters.
Another sign had a combination of a Star of David, used by the Jewish people, and the Nazi swastika.
The protesters also chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is often interpreted as a promise to erase Israel from the map.
Some political figures and media reports blamed disturbances on that day on the political right. London Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement regarding the protests, stating that the “overwhelming majority of people who used their democratic right to protest on the streets of London today did so peacefully.”
London is lost to Islamist terrorists with a terrorist simp as their mayor https://t.co/t2ElcXyU2M
— Ahmed Al Asliken 🕋☪️✈️ (@assliken) November 11, 2023
The mayor blamed the attacks on police on “far-right thugs,” who he said “used the pro-Palestinian protest to spread hate and racism, including antisemitism.”
About 80 people, purported to be ‘far-right,’ were arrested ahead of the protests.
Khan blamed the rhetoric around the events at the nation’s Conservative Party government, writing that he hoped “everyone takes the time to reflect on the impact their words and actions can have on others.”
The mayor also wrote that he supported the city’s police “in taking a zero-tolerance approach against anyone found committing violent offenses or spreading hate.”
