HUNDREDS of thousands of people mobilised across Britain on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.

The day also marked the 48th anniversary of a Palestinian uprising against Israel’s mass theft of Palestinian land in Galilee. 

An estimated 200,000 marched in London, 1,500 protesters took to the streets in Leeds; in Manchester a “land march” commemorated the 1976 uprising.

The march was organised by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP), an umbrella organisation uniting a dozen Palestine support groups.

John Nicholson of GMFP said: “Palestinians in Gaza are being forced to endure a genocide, unfathomable violence, torture and starvation.”

Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn, introduced by organisers in London as “the people’s prime minister,” criticised the government for continuing the “grisly, ghastly arms trade with Israel.”

Addressed a raucous crowd in Trafalgar Square, he said: “What we’re watching on real-time global television is the destruction of life, wanton destruction of life, in Gaza. And when [US] President Biden announces that he wants more aid to go into Gaza? Well, President Biden: it’s your planes that are bombing the aid when it arrives in Gaza. It is your military support that is causing so much of the problems.”

Hackney North & Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott accused politicians of paying lip service to a ceasefire.

She told the crowd: “We’ve heard British politicians talking about a ceasefire: but I would say if you really want a ceasefire now, call for a ceasefire in Parliament, vote for it.”