LONDON: Tens of thousands of protesters marched in London on Saturday demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as a temporary truce largely held in the besieged strip.

It was the latest large pro-Palestinian demonstration in the British capital since the unprecedented Oct 7 events.

“The occupation needs to end. We need a full ceasefire and not a four-day ceasefire,” Alaa Hassan, a 24-year-old wellbeing practitioner, said.

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. There were no immediate reports of violence at the demonstration, organised 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.

In Gaza, a truce was largely being respected as Hamas fighters and Israel’s government released Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli and foreign prisoners held by Hamas.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 organisation is classified as a terrorist group.

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2023