London police brace for another day of protests over Israel-Gaza conflict
Demonstrators calling for the release of hostages plan to march through central London to the prime minister's residence at No. 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon. The march comes a day after police arrested 474 people at a protest in support of a banned pro-Palestinian organization.
Among those expected to attend the rally is Noga Guttman, a cousin of 24-year-old hostage Evyatar David, who was featured in a video that enraged Israelis when it was released by Hamas militants last week. The video showed an emaciated David saying he is digging his own grave inside a tunnel in Gaza.
Hamas-led militants kidnapped 251 people when they attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Some 50 of the hostages still haven't been released, of whom 20 are thought to be alive.
Israel last week announced its intention to occupy Gaza City as part of a plan to end the war and bring the captives home. Family members and many international leaders have condemned the plan, saying it would lead to more bloodshed and endanger the hostages.
United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Türk and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer were among them. Türk, in a statement issued after Israel's announcement, said the government's "plan for a complete military takeover of the occupied Gaza strip must be immediately halted." He added that "further escalation will result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes."
Meanwhile, Starmer called Israel's plan "wrong" and said it would "do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages."
Stop the Hate, a coalition of groups organizing the march through London on Sunday, said in a statement that they "are united in one clear and urgent demand: the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
"Regardless of our diverse political views, this is not a political issue — it is a human one," the coalition said.
On Saturday, police arrested hundreds of people in central London as demonstrators sought to pressure the government to overturn its decision to ban the group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. Legislation passed last month makes it a crime to publicly support the group.
The Metropolitan Police Service said it arrested 466 people for supporting Palestine Action. A further eight were arrested on other charges, including assaults on police officers. Police said that was the highest number of arrests made on a single day in the last 10 years, CBS News partner BBC News reported.
The government banned Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two tanker planes to protest British support for the war in Gaza. Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in Britain that they believe have links with the Israeli military.
Supporters of Palestine Action are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring a direct action group a terrorist organization.
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