Mass protest in London for Gaza ceasefire
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The UK abstained from a UN security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
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People take part in a protest in solidarity with Palestine, in London, December 9, 2023 (Hollie Adams/Reuters)
Tens of thousands of people gathered in London for another weekend of protests, demanding "Israel" end its attack on Gaza and slamming their government for failing to support a truce in the strip.
Protesters marched from London's Bank Junction to Parliament Square on Saturday, holding posters that read "Ceasefire now," "End genocide," and the well-known Palestinian cry, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
Many criticized the UK for abstaining from a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which the US rejected.
Thousands gathered in London for Gaza.#Gaza #GazaHolocaust pic.twitter.com/4Vi7kGc5y4
— The International Magazine (@TheIntlMagz) December 10, 2023
Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf, condemned the UK government for choosing to abstain in the UN Security Council resolution led by the UAE. The resolution, ultimately vetoed by the US, had sought a humanitarian ceasefire on Friday.
The Labour Party issued its harshest condemnation of "Israel's" attacks on Palestinians, calling the death and destruction in Gaza over the last two months "intolerable" and blasting Israeli cabinet ministers for their "totally unacceptable" support for illegal settlements in the West Bank.
I agree with @savechildrenuk
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) December 9, 2023
I find it incomprehensible that the UK did not vote for a ceasefire. How can you choose to be complicit in the killing of thousands of children?
Shame on the UK Government & Keir Starmer's Labour Party who refuse to back a #CeasefireNow https://t.co/TXLSZiwIKI
The United States on Friday vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, "diplomatically" shielding its ally.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, and Friends of Al Aqsa were among the organizations that participated in the event, which was attended by 100,000 people, according to organizers, and 40,000 people, according to local media estimates.
🇵🇸 Another absolutely huge demonstration in London for #Palestine.
— Stop the War (@STWuk) December 9, 2023
🇵🇸 Stretching all the way from Bank to Whitehall!
🇵🇸 Sunak, Starmer and co listen up: we will continue to march until there's a ceasefire and justice for the Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/8Oczmt8eYc
The march had tight police-imposed conditions such as an exclusion zone outside the Israeli embassy to prohibit gathering.
On Saturday, Pro-Palestine members of the Jewish community in the United States demonstrated outside the offices of Democratic Party Congressman Dwight Evans in Philadelphia, demanding that he support a ceasefire in Gaza.
The IfNotNow group posted on X: "We’ve been making calls and visiting his office for two months. He still hasn’t taken action. We’re not leaving until he does."
The movement comprises American Jews who are demanding the US end its backing of the Israeli apartheid regime.
Elsewhere, other pro-Palestine demonstrators halted US President Joe Biden's exclusive fundraiser event in Los Angeles, demanding the event to be canceled and the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza to end.
SHUT IT DOWN!🇵🇸
— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) December 9, 2023
Protesters confront Genocide Joe outside his elite fundraising event in Los Angeles! #ShutItDown4Palestine pic.twitter.com/wSht5zH4ww
