Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday attended one of the largest anti-Israel rallies in London since 2023, themed around opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for relocating the residents of the Gaza Strip.
Police made several arrests, including of a man who allegedly performed a Nazi salute toward participants of a smaller, pro-Israel counterprotest, The Standard reported. Others arrested were suspected of causing criminal damage, showing support for a proscribed organization and breach of the conditions of the rally, according to the report.
The protesters carried signs such as “Trump, get your filthy hands off Gaza” and “Free Palestine, exist, resist, return.”
Prominently placed at the rally, which began with a march through London, members of Neturei Karta—a small, radically anti-Israel Jewish Haredi group—held signs reading: “Judaism condemns the State of Israel and its atrocities” and “Stop Israel.”
The march ended with a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in London, where several speakers, including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, expressed opposition to Trump’s relocation plan.
Stop The Hate, a pro-Israel group, staged the counterprotest on the junction of Grosvenor Road and Vauxhall Bridge. The rally was the 24th mass event in support of Gaza and in opposition to Israel that has taken place in London since the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In recent weeks, Trump spoke on several occasions about plans to have the roughly 2 million residents of Gaza leave while the area is being rehabilitated.
The U.S. president said he had discussed the issue of relocation with Jordan and Egypt, both of which, along with other Arab countries, have publicly rejected Trump’s proposal. However, he has dismissed their opposition, insisting that the proposal will be implemented.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Saturday said that Arab countries were formulating a plan to rehabilitate Gaza without displacing its population.
Last week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II traveled to Washington, where he announced his country was willing to take in 2,000 severely ill Gazan children and their families.
