The National Demonstration for Palestine followed a week-long exchange of air raids and rockets that killed at least 25 Palestinians and four Israelis. Protesters gathered at Portland Place and marched to Whitehall, where several speakers delivered speeches to the crowd. Palestinian ambassador to the UK Dr Husam Zomlot stood on the stage next to Ahed Tamimi, the protester who became a globally known after slapping an Israeli soldier in the West Bank last year. The event was timed to coincide with a day commemorating the Nakba or “catastrophe” which led to the exodus of several hundred thousand Palestinians following declaration of the State of Israel on 15 May 1948. Demonstrators said they believed Benjamin Netanyahu’s election promise to annex the West Bank and Mr Trump’s plans for peace in the region – which he has dubbed the “deal of the century” – were key obstacles to the realization of Palestinian rights.<doc-sep>Thousands of people marched through central London in a bid to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and the blockade on Gaza. "Free Palestine", and "End Siege in Gaza" protesters shouted, carrying pro-Palestinian placards. The procession started in Portland Place and protesters marched through Oxford Circus and Trafalgar Square to reach Downing Street where the government offices are located. Palestinian resistance icon, Ahed al-Tamimi was among the protesters who were organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition. The 17-year-old was arrested in late 2017 by Israeli authorities and was later slapped with an eight-month jail term for "attacking" an Israeli soldier. One of the protesters was Allison Pierce. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Pierce said she was "appalled" by what's happening to Palestinians. She said: "Do you want to know why I'm here today? "I am absolutely appalled by what's happening to the Palestinians. "I think it's genocide and I think it is murder. "It's inhumane and it's a tragedy and I'm totally appalled. "That's why I'm here, I'm here for the Palestinian people, they are a nation and they need to have their country back." Glen Oliver, another protesters who came to join the march from Southampton, thinks the international community does not react as "Palestinians are being shot in cold blood." "Why am I here? To support in solidarity with Gaza who are being murdered while the rest of the world just watches and these people are being shot down in cold blood with impunity by the Israeli terror state," Oliver said. Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Oliver said: "They [Israel] seem to do what they want, when they like and no one says anything. "Our stupid foreign minister Jeremy Hunt condemns the few Hamas bombs and says absolutely nothing at all about the destruction of Gaza, they're bombing their houses 24/7. "There, 25 Palestinians murdered this week, nothing about that whatsoever. The ridiculous situation of the Eurovision Song Contest taking place in Tel Aviv is grotesque and people should boycott it, have nothing to do with it. So I'm here today to say end the bloodshed in Gaza and let's stand with the Palestinians." "Justice for Palestine." The march ended after speeches and dance shows on a stage opposite the Downing Street. "We will not be made victims! We will continue to resist! "Ahed Tamimi said. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn also supported the march on Twitter. "We cannot stand by or stay silent at the continuing denial of rights and justice to the Palestinian people," Corbyn wrote.<doc-sep>Thousands have demonstrated in central London to demand an end to the “unprecedented attacks” against the Palestinian people at the hands of Israel. Marching from Portland Place to Whitehall, a diverse crowd chanted “Palestine will be free” and called for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, while holding banners calling on the UK to stop arming Israel, as part of a demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition, among others. Protesters gathered next to the cenotaph to hear speeches from the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s (PLO) representative, union officials, MPs and campaigners. Ahed Tamimi, who became a symbol of resistance for the Palestinian people after she was jailed for slapping soldiers outside her home in the West Bank, took to the stage and said she refused to be defined as a victim, but instead a freedom fighter. Richard Burgon, the Labour MP, said: “Palestine has the right to exist but sadly that is a right that is increasingly threatened … Palestinians should be able to live free from ever expanding settlements on stolen land.” The protest was timed to coincide with the 1948 Palestinian exodus in which hundreds of thousands were forcibly displaced from their homes during the 1948 and 1967 wars that resulted from the state of Israel being created.<doc-sep>Eighteen-year-old anti-Israel activist Ahed Tamimi, who gained prominence after a 2017 video of her assaulting an Israeli soldier went viral, joined the National Demonstration for Palestine in London on Saturday. Thousands attend the pro-Palestine protest, marching through the streets of central London, the Guardian reported. Tamimi, who is a supporter of the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organisation, and British members of parliament gave speeches at the rally, the report said. The protest commemorated the 71st anniversary of the exodus of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, according to Palestinian media. At the protest, Tamimi called herself a freedom fighter. “From the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free,” she said. Proud to be part of the #Palestine solidarity march in London. Too long have governments got away with permitting war crimes and apartheid. pic.twitter.com/QYqdDmRHzx — John .R (@RatKingCS) May 11, 2019 Organizers wrote of the march, “The Palestinian people need our solidarity more than ever, and are calling for global protests to protect their collective rights.” Ahead of the protests Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn expressed his personal support. My message to those on the National Demonstration for Palestine in London today:We cannot stand by or stay silent at… Posted by Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday, May 11, 2019 The Labour leader has long sought to venture into Middle East politics, in the past calling terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah “friends” when inviting members for a parliamentary meeting in 2009. He later downplayed the comment and said he regretted using the term. In 2014 Corbyn attended a ceremony that honored the terrorists behind the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre. He later sought to clarify his attendance, telling critics just because he travelled to the Middle East to stand alongside terrorists didn’t mean he supported them or their cause. “I was present when [a wreath] was laid, I don’t think I was actually involved in it,” he explained. Jeremy Corbyn Challenged over Graveside Wreath-Laying for Munich Massacre Terrorists https://t.co/zqjxkbYh0E — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 12, 2018 Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com<doc-sep>
cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: '36af7c51-0caf-4741-9824-2c941fc6c17b' }).render('4c4d856e0e6f4e3d808bbc1715e132f6'); }); if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";} Crowds at @JeremyCorbyn -supported anti-Israel march attended by National Front leader cheer as speaker says Jewish organisations are “in the gutter” and “part of the problem” https://t.co/GJgdFSs9Pw May 11, 2019 Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London for the National Demonstration for Palestine.The marchers during the event on Sunday called to “free Palestine,” for a “right of return” for Palestinians, and for the end to “unprecedented attacks on Palestinians by Israel.The event, which marks the 71st anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe, referring to the formation of the state of Israel, was organized by the Palestine Campaign with the support of Stop the War Coalition, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Friends of Al- Aqsa and the Muslim Association of Britain, as well as several trade unions and the Momentum faction of the British Labour Party.The march was led by Ahed Tamimi, the activist teen who became a Palestinian national symbol after being jailed in Israel for aggravated assault, hindering a soldier in the line of duty, incitement, threatening a soldier’s life and rock throwing, including one incident caught on video in which she slapped a soldier.At the protest Tamimi called herself a freedom fighter and stated: “From the river, to the sea, Palestine will be free.”A small counter-protest was held by pro-Israel activists, according to the U.K. Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, , a far-left and anti-Israel politician who has faced allegations that he himself is promoting antisemitism in Labour, a party that has been accused of fomenting institutional racism, offered his support to the demonstrators in a statement that he also posted on Facebook.“We cannot stand by or stay silent at the continuing denial of rights and justice to the Palestinian people,” Corbyn said. “The Labour Party is united in condemning the ongoing human rights abuses by Israeli forces, including the shooting of hundreds of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza – most of them refugees or families of refugees – demanding their rights.”“Last week’s escalation of violence, during raids on Gaza, killing 25 Palestinians, and four Israelis, is both distressing and dangerous – and a reminder of the risk that full-scale conflict can return at any time,” Corbyn also said. He added that a Labour government would recognize a Palestinian state and return to “meaningful negotiations.”During the march, Jewish Voice for Labour Secretary Glyn Secker made a speech, which was met with loud applause and cheers, claiming that Jews were “in the gutter” and “part of the problem.”He also accused “American rabbis” of fueling the neo-Nazis behind antisemitic terrorism, including the fatal terrorist attack on Poway synagogue, and claimed that they were “unleashing the extreme-right to win key votes in marginal states which determine the presidency,” according to the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism.He called the 119 Labour lawmakers who are “friends of Israel” a “fifth column in the Labour Party.”