Thousands rally in UK cities in solidarity with Palestinians

Thousands of people rallied Saturday in London and other UK cities for pro-Palestinian protests, amid police warnings that anyone showing support for the militant group Hamas could face arrest.

Attendees, who marched through the heart of the British capital as well as Manchester in northern England, Edinburgh in Scotland and other cities, were shadowed by a heavy police presence.

In London, demonstrators massed neared BBC News' headquarters before an afternoon rally near Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Downing Street office and residence.

Some held Palestinian flags and placards -- bearing slogans including "freedom for Palestine", "end the massacre" and "sanctions for Israel" -- as they made their way towards the end-point for planned speeches. Chants of "Rishi Sunak, shame on you" could be heard.

"I think all just people around the world, not just in Britain, must stand up and call for this madness (to end)," Ismail Patel, chairman of the Friends of Al-Aqsa campaign, told AFP at the demonstration in the capital.

"Otherwise, in the next few days, (we) might see a catastrophe unfolding."

The rallies come as Israel intensifies its war to destroy Hamas' capability, relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip and deploying tens of thousands of soldiers nearby ahead of an expected ground offensive in the enclave.

That follows last Saturday's attack by Hamas, which saw hundreds of its fighters cross the Israeli border to take hostages and kill more than 1,000 civilians on the streets, in their homes and at a rave party.

'Message'

Ahead of the London protest, the city's Metropolitan Police Service said it would deploy more than 1,000 officers, as the events thousands of miles away reverberate in Britain and elsewhere.

Police and the government have noted a spike in UK anti-Semitic crime and incidents since the Hamas assault, while officers in Sussex, southeast England, arrested a 22-year-old woman Friday suspected of having made a speech backing Hamas.

A banned terrorist organisation in Britain, its members -- or those found guilty of inviting support for it -- can be jailed for up to 14 years under UK law.

The Met said this week that general expressions of support for Palestinians, including flying the Palestinian flag, were not criminal offences but reiterated that supporting Hamas is a crime.

Ferouza Namaz, 34, a student from Uzbekistan, joined the London protest, arguing that civilians in Gaza are "absolutely innocent".

"Just being Palestinian does not give the rights to kill them. These appalling atrocities have been taking place for so many years," he added.

Israel insists it does not deliberately target civilians in the Gaza Strip or other Palestinian territories.

Jeremy Corbyn, ex-leader of the main opposition Labour party -- who was accused of allowing anti-Semitism to flourish during his four-year party tenure -- addressed the London rally.

"If you believe in international law, if you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening now in Gaza by the Israeli army," the now-independent lawmaker said.