THE streets of more than 100 cities in Britain and across the world echoed to chants of support for Palestine and the suffering people of Gaza over the weekend.
An estimated 250,000 people joined the march and rally in London, while thousands more marched in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow and other centres as part of the Global Day of Action.
Protesters carried banners demanding “ceasefire now” and chanted “free, free Palestine.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was given a rousing welcome when he addressed the London rally near the Israeli embassy in Kensington.
“We’ve got to carry on,” he told the crowd.
“This is the 14th national demonstration and there’s going to be as many more as it takes until there is a ceasefire, until there is justice for the Palestinian people.”
On Wednesday, the House of Commons will debate a motion from the Scottish National Party calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the death toll now stands at more than 28,000.
Mr Corbyn said: “We’re witnessing something globally horrific in real time on our televisions.
“So on Wednesday … I am signing in support of that motion.
“And I want every one of you here, demand, demand of your MP, your elected representative, be there, vote for a ceasefire. No ifs, no buts, no qualifications.”
Palestinian ambassador to Britain Husam Zomlot called for justice for his people when he addressed the rally.
“You see what is happening, you are horrified at what is happening, you are shocked to your core at the inaction of your government,” he said.
“Hang on to your anger, hang on to your enragement, hang on to your horror and use it, use it in the pursuit of justice.”
Police made a dozen arrests during the London protest, including for refusing to remove face masks and carrying placards causing “suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation.”
Police also stopped a “pro-Palestinian car convoy” in Neasden, north-west London and monitored it to ensure it was not “causing fear.”
In Manchester, around 1,500 people marched and shut down a branch of Barclays Bank over the company’s investments in firms arming Israel.
Protesters in Sheffield occupied a Tesco supermarket in protest at Tesco’s stocking of Israeli produce, including dates.
Sheffield Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid is calling on Sheffield Council to declare the city an “Israeli Apartheid-Free Zone.”
On Sunday, Palestine supporters led by children marched in Wakefield in West Yorkshire, highlighting the huge death toll among children in Gaza where Israel is attacking the Gazan people’s last refuge, the town of Rafah.
Campaign group Todmorden for Palestine in West Yorkshire raised more than £1,000 for Medical Aid for Palestine at a community fair on Sunday before staging the group’s weekly protest outside the Pennine community’s town hall.
