Over 100,000 March to Downing Street urging Keir Starmer to stop arming Israel and end the Gaza Genocide

News desk
shottobani

Londonঃ  More than 100,000 people marched to Downing Street on Saturday, 9 August in a mass demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, calling on UK Labour leader Keir Starmer to “end the genocide, stop arming Israel, stop starving Gaza.”

The protest came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to “take control of all Gaza” – a move campaigners say will mean the invasion of Gaza City, the forced displacement of 800,000 Palestinians already sheltering there, and the killing of thousands more.

Organisers condemned Israel’s actions as part of a long-running plan to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their land, asserting it was “never about rescuing hostages” but about eradicating the Palestinian people. Protesters accused the British government of deep complicity in Israel’s actions through continued arms sales, military cooperation, and trade ties.

This was the 21st national march for Palestine in the past 22 months. Demonstrators chanted, “End the genocide”, “End the occupation” and “End the Zionist apartheid”.

Many from the UK’s Bengali community joined the rally, including Akikur Rahman, Jalal Rajon Uddin, Syed Gulab Ali, Hafiz Md Zilu Khan, Soyful Alam, Shafique Ahmed, Abdus Salam Sheikh, Ahmed Fokor Kamal, Ansar Ahmed Ullah, Jamil Iqbal, and Ahmed Hussain Hira from ‘Bengalis for Palestine.’ They called for unity to oppose Israel’s plans, urging the government to stop arming Israel, end all military cooperation and trade, and impose comprehensive sanctions. Campaigners said that with Israel openly declaring its intent to occupy Gaza City, “our collective voice is needed now more than ever” to halt what they describe as an unfolding genocide.