Three years into a conflict that has reshaped the moral landscape of Western foreign policy, a quarter of a million people walked through the heart of London on a Saturday in October — not in anger alone, but in the kind of sustained, collective grief that outlasts news cycles. Their march arrived at a rare moment of convergence: a British government that had, for the first time, declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful, and a ceasefire that had failed to stop the dying. What moves through the streets of a democracy, when its institutions begin — however haltingly — to listen, is
Thousands march in London demanding end to Gaza conflict as UK shifts stance
Over 1,400 Palestinians killed in Gaza in the past year since ceasefire; 230 Palestinians killed in West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers in 2025.
Three years on, the solidarity of the British people continues—louder, bigger, not going anywhere.
Mark
What made this march different from the ones before it?
Mimi
The timing. It was the first major march after Ed Miliband declared Israel's West Bank occupation unlawful and announced sanctions on settlements. That's a real shift in UK policy.
Luke
But we should be careful—Miliband said that at party conference, and the march happened after. We don't know if the policy shift caused the larger turnout or if the march itself pressured the government into the shift.
Mark
Fair point. So what actually happened on the day?
Mimi
A quarter-million people, according to organizers, marched from the Embankment through Whitehall. They held a two-minute silence for Gaza. Twenty people were arrested—some for climbing on a memorial, others for carrying banned organization placards.
Luke
The 250,000 figure—that's what organizers claimed. The Met didn't release their own estimate, so we're working with one side's count.
Mark
Why was the police presence so heavy?
Mimi
The deputy commissioner said it was because the march came close to the third anniversary of October 7. He wanted to minimize disruption and said their presence would be "significant."
Luke
That's interesting language. "Minimize disruption"—to whom? The march itself, or the communities around it? The conditions they imposed were quite strict: specific routes, time limits on speeches, powers to remove face coverings.
Mark
And there was a counter-protest?
Mimi
About thirty people outside Scotland Yard. Much smaller, and the Met imposed conditions on them too—they had to stay in a designated area and wrap up by 2:30 p.m.
Luke
So both sides were heavily managed. That's worth noting—it wasn't just about controlling the larger pro-Palestine march.
Le Pouls
- A quarter-million people filled central London's streets, making this one of the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations Britain has ever seen — a bride and groom among them, organizers pausing the march for two minutes of silence for the dead.
- The march landed at a charged moment: just days past the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks, with communities still raw and a small counter-protest gathered outside New Scotland Yard.
- Twenty arrests were made — some for climbing a war memorial, others for carrying placards linked to a proscribed group — as the Metropolitan Police deployed a significant operation with strict conditions on route and timing.
- Britain's Foreign Secretary had recently declared Israel's West Bank occupation unlawful, imposed sanctions on settlement trade, and told Parliament that settler violence amounted to ethnic cleansing — a fundamental shift in official UK policy.
- Despite a ceasefire declared a year prior, 1,400 more Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since, and 230 in the West Bank in 2025 alone — the numbers that protesters say make continued UK arms sales unconscionable.
- The Palestine Coalition, which has now organized over thirty mass demonstrations since October 2023, shows no sign of standing down — and for the first time, the government's language is beginning to echo their own.
Three years into a conflict that has reshaped the moral landscape of Western foreign policy, a quarter of a million people walked through the heart of London on a Saturday in October — not in anger alone, but in the kind of sustained, collective grief that outlasts news cycles. Their march arrived at a rare moment of convergence: a British government that had, for the first time, declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful, and a ceasefire that had failed to stop the dying. What moves through the streets of a democracy, when its institutions begin — however haltingly — to listen, is something older than politics.
On a Saturday in early October, a quarter of a million people moved through central London — draped in Palestinian flags and keffiyehs, carrying placards, and pausing in collective silence for the dead in Gaza. They gathered at the Embankment at midday and marched toward Parliament, through Whitehall, where a rally would close out the evening. Among the crowd was a bride and groom. Twenty people were arrested — some for climbing the Battle of Britain memorial, others for carrying signs linked to Palestine Action, a proscribed organization.
The march arrived at a moment of genuine political shift. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband had recently declared Israel's occupation of the West Bank unlawful in its entirety, announced sweeping sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements, and told Parliament that settler violence — backed by Netanyahu's government — amounted to ethnic cleansing. At Labour's party conference the month before, he had addressed the years of protest directly: "We hear you, you were right."
The protesters' central demand was an arms embargo. Multiple international bodies — the UN, Amnesty International, B'Tselem, Physicians for Human Rights — have characterized Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. A ceasefire had been declared a year earlier, but airstrikes continued. In the twelve months since, 1,400 more Palestinians were killed in Gaza; in the West Bank, Israeli forces and settlers killed 230 in 2025 alone. Palestinian Ambassador Husam Zomlot posted from the march: "Three years on, Israel's atrocities continue, and so does the solidarity of the British people."
The police operation was substantial. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carl Galvin noted the march's proximity to the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks — when Hamas killed at least 1,209 people — and warned it carried heightened potential to affect communities. Strict conditions governed the route and timing; officers were also authorized to require the removal of face coverings used to conceal identity. A counter-protest of around thirty people gathered outside New Scotland Yard under its own set of police conditions.
The Palestine Coalition, which has organized more than thirty national demonstrations since October 2023, brought together Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War, CND, and several Muslim and Palestinian community organizations. Saturday's turnout dwarfed a smaller student march held the week before on the anniversary itself. What distinguished this one was not only its scale, but the moment it occupied — a Britain whose official position on the conflict had, at last, begun to move.
On a Saturday in early October, a quarter-million people moved through central London's streets, many draped in Palestinian flags and keffiyehs, their placards demanding an end to what they called genocide. They gathered at the Embankment at midday and marched toward Parliament, their route taking them through Whitehall where a rally would conclude by evening. Among them were a bride and groom. Organizers held a two-minute silence for the dead in Gaza. The Metropolitan Police made twenty arrests—some for climbing onto the Battle of Britain memorial, others for carrying placards supporting Palestine Action, a proscribed organization, and a handful for assaulting officers during the arrests.
This march arrived at a moment when Britain's official posture toward Israel had shifted. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband had recently announced sweeping new sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements and declared that the UK government would take the position that Israel's occupation of the West Bank was unlawful in its entirety. He had also told Parliament that settler terrorists, backed by Benjamin Netanyahu's government, were committing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. At Labour's party conference the month before, Miliband had addressed the crowds who had been protesting for three years: "I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you, you were right."
The protesters were calling for the UK to stop supplying arms to Israel. Multiple international bodies—the UN, Amnesty International, B'Tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights—have stated that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. A ceasefire had been declared a year earlier, but Israeli airstrikes continued. In the twelve months since that ceasefire, the death toll in Gaza had risen by another 1,400 people. In the West Bank, the picture was grimmer still. According to UN figures, Israeli forces and settlers killed 230 Palestinians there in 2025 alone, as settler attacks intensified.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, posted a video from the march on social media. "Three years on, Israel's atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank continue, and so does the solidarity of the British people," he said. "Louder, bigger and not going anywhere. Thank you all." By Saturday afternoon, organizers claimed 250,000 people had attended.
The police operation was substantial. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Carl Galvin, leading the policing effort, said the force's presence would be "significant." He noted that the march, coming so close to the third anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel—when Hamas militants killed at least 1,209 people across kibbutzim, border towns, military bases, and music festivals—had the potential to affect communities more than previous national demonstrations. The Met imposed strict conditions on the route, requiring marchers to travel via Westminster Bridge, York Road, Waterloo Bridge, and The Strand to Whitehall, with speeches and music to conclude by 5:30 p.m. and the rally ending by 6:30 p.m. Officers were also authorized to require anyone wearing face coverings in the protest area to remove them if they were deliberately concealing their identity.
A counter-protest organized by Stop The Hate took place outside New Scotland Yard, with about thirty people gathered, some holding flags. The Met imposed conditions on that demonstration as well, requiring participants to remain in a designated area with the assembly concluding at 2:30 p.m.
The Palestine Coalition, which organized Saturday's march, has held more than thirty mass demonstrations since October 2023. The coalition includes Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War, CND, the Muslim Association of Britain, Friends of Al Aqsa, and the Palestinian Forum in Britain. A week earlier, on the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks, a smaller pro-Palestine student demonstration had taken place in central London. The Met had publicly appealed to organizers to hold it on a different date and admitted that finding the organizers had been "frankly difficult." About 100 people attended that event, and five were arrested for breaching conditions. Saturday's march, by contrast, represented a far larger mobilization—and it came as Britain's official position on the conflict had fundamentally changed.
Citations marquantes
Three years on, Israel's atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank continue, and so does the solidarity of the British people. Louder, bigger and not going anywhere.— Husam Zomlot, Palestinian ambassador to the UK
I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you, you were right.— Ed Miliband, UK Foreign Secretary, at Labour party conference
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War & Conflict