Thousands rally in Europe, US cities in support of Palestinians as Gaza violence rages
- Protesters gathered in London, Berlin, Madrid and Paris, New York and Washington, DC as the worst violence in years raged between Israel and militants in Gaza
- In Madrid, some 2,500 people, many of them young people wrapped in Palestinian flags, marched to the Puerta del Sol plaza in the city centre
Thousands of protesters marched in support of Palestinians on Saturday in major European cities including London, Berlin, Madrid and Paris, and in the United States in Boston and Washington, DC as the worst violence in years raged between Israel and militants in Gaza.
In London, several thousand protesters carrying placards reading “Stop Bombing Gaza” and chanting “Free Palestine” converged on Marble Arch, near the British capital’s Hyde Park, to march towards the Israeli embassy.
Packed crowds stretched all along Kensington’s High Street where the embassy is located.
This time is different. This time we will not be denied any more. We are united. We have had enough of oppression.
Organisers claimed as many as 100,000 people had gathered for the demonstration though London police said they were unable to confirm any figure.
“The group is spread across a large area which makes it impossible to count them,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.
“Officers are engaging with a group of people who have gathered for a demonstration in central London this afternoon,” the police said in a separate statement, adding that a plan was in place to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“This time is different. This time we will not be denied any more. We are united. We have had enough of oppression,” Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot told the demonstrators.
“Today we are saying enough, enough with the complicity,” he added.