Violent riots in London: 300,000 people take to the streets
Over 300,000 protestors supporting Palestinians and demonstrating against Israeli actions took to the streets on Saturday in London. The police apprehended about 100 extreme right-wing counter-protestors, according to Reuters. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak referred to these counter-protestors as "bandits" in a statement.
During the demonstration on Saturday, confrontations between the police and far-right groups, who were also in London, occurred. Remembrance Day, which is a commemoration of the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I, falls on November 11 in the UK.
Before the pro-Palestinian protest, tensions were fuelled by Home Secretary Suella Braverman when she labeled these rallies as "hate marches", according to The Associated Press. She had also insisted that the event on Saturday be discontinued out of respect for Remembrance Day.
"The Home Secretary emboldened the far-right. She spent a week stoking the fires of division. Now, they are attacking the police on Remembrance Day," wrote First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yusaf, on X portal. He also suggested that the Home Secretary "must resign."
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denounced the "brutal, completely unacceptable scenes" that involved the English Defence League (EDL), groups affiliated with them, and supporters of Hamas participating in the National March for Palestine on Saturday. He referred to the members of the anti-immigration, far-right EDL who were attacking the police as "bandits."
As reported by London police, the pro-Palestinian march was the biggest protest in the capital since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. "The police estimated that about 300,000 people participated in the march that spanned approximately three miles from Hyde Park to the US embassy," reported by AP.
The organizers' estimates of the demonstration's turnout are even higher. According to them, the march had close to 800,000 participants.
"So many children are dying, and the Western powers that permit this are completely contemptible," one participant of the pro-Palestinian demonstration told the BBC.
