Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in front of the British Parliament building in London to stop the war in Gaza. They demanded strict sanctions on the Israeli government and a full arms embargo. Al Jazeera reported.
The protest was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) on Wednesday. At that time, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was answering questions from members of parliament. Thousands of protesters dressed in red formed a human chain around the British Parliament building.
Starmer told Parliament that Israel’s actions in the blockaded and bombed Gaza are horrific and intolerable.
He said that these are dark times. We have strongly opposed the expansion of the Israeli military operation, the violence of settlers and the blocking of humanitarian aid.
Starmer also said that the UK has already imposed sanctions, suspended free trade talks and is currently considering imposing more sanctions.
Prime Minister Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy and their government have faced fierce criticism within the UK for failing to take action since the war began and for not doing anything effective yet.
Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from London, said the pro-Palestinian protests lasted for hours. They continued throughout Starmer’s speech in parliament. A red line was drawn around the entire parliament building.
The protesters said this meant the UK government also needed to have a red line on Gaza that they would never cross.