The event on Saturday, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began at Russell Square in the city centre before attendees marched to Trafalgar Square for a mid-afternoon rally.
A smaller number of demonstrators also turned out for a counter-protest in support of Israel, with lines of police separating the two gatherings.
London has seen numerous large-scale pro-Palestinian protests since Israel waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza after an October 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.
The peaceful protests are a sign of solidarity with Palestine as Israeli attacks have killed more than 32,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, in addition to causing mass destruction, displacement and famine conditions.
However, some ruling Conservative lawmakers have branded the London rallies as “hate marches” that fuel a hostile environment towards Jewish people.
‘We will keep marching’
Organisers insist they are exercising their democratic rights and that law-breakers are a tiny minority of the sometimes tens of thousands of people who turned out.
Sally Worgan, 65, a retired social worker, had travelled from Gloucestershire in western England to attend.
“I think it’s important for the Palestinian people to know that people do support them, that they’re not just on their own,” she told AFP news agency.
#British rulers tried to stop pro #Palestine protests.
It just keeps getting bigger.#London today for Palestine 🇯🇴🇯🇴🇯🇴
The protest has been described as the biggest in the history of #UK.#londonprotest pic.twitter.com/MJam8qmM07
— MebsiLfc19 (@mebsLFC19) October 5, 2024
“We will keep marching,” Ben Jamal, one of the organisers, told Sky News on Saturday, adding attendees wanted “a permanent ceasefire” and more aid to be delivered to Palestinians in Gaza.
“We already know that 70 percent of the British public according to opinion polls support the demands that we’re making.”
Massive march in #London showing solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine. pic.twitter.com/5XzNrTysfN
— Sayed Ahmed AlWadaei (@SAlwadaei) October 5, 2024
Protesters from various anti-Israel Jewish groups were among the participants in the rally.
By mid-afternoon, London’s Metropolitan Police said officers had arrested one man “on suspicion of a terrorism-related offence in relation to inviting support for a proscribed organisation”.
I guess one is never to old to march for a good cause #FreePalestine #London pic.twitter.com/boCYlQUyrt
— Haroun Rashid (@HarounRashid2) October 5, 2024
The force had said in the build-up to Saturday that it had “a robust policing plan in place”, including requiring marchers keep to a pre-approved route and disperse by 5:00 pm (1700 GMT).
“Anyone who fails to comply with the conditions will be dealt with by officers,” the force had added on social media.
#British rulers tried to stop pro #Palestine protests.
It just keeps getting bigger.#London today for Palestine 🇯🇴🇯🇴🇯🇴
The protest has been described as the biggest in the history of #UK.#londonprotest pic.twitter.com/MJam8qmM07
— MebsiLfc19 (@mebsLFC19) October 5, 2024
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