More than 350 protesters shut down part of Oxford Street on Saturday as they staged a sit-in protest during the shopping district’s busiest hours.
The demonstration, organised by the Free Palestine Coalition, a collective of grassroots groups standing in solidarity with Palestine, occupied a busy junction and stopped traffic for more than an hour by sitting down in the road.
Protesters chanted “from the river to the sea” and held banners calling for a ceasefire and “no more business as usual”.
The newly formed coalition, which includes Sisters Uncut, Black Lives Matter UK and the Black-Jewish Alliance, began the demonstration at the BBC’s headquarters in Portland Place, before moving to Oxford Street, demanding that the broadcaster end what they claimed was biased coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
It comes after a week of similar disruptive actions at UK transport hubs, including Birmingham New Street and London’s Waterloo, Liverpool Street and King’s Cross stations.
The sit-in was part of a number of protests taking place across the capital on Saturday in support of Palestine, with thousands expected to take to the streets across the UK for the fourth consecutive week of demonstrations over the conflict.
A pro-Palestine rally was due to be held in Trafalgar Square from about 2.30pm on Saturday, with protesters calling for a ceasefire. Similar events were planned in Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol and other towns and cities across the UK.
The Metropolitan police said there will be a “sharper focus” on using social media and face recognition to detect criminal behaviour at protests this weekend.
The force has also said pro-Palestine protesters will be prevented from gathering outside the Israeli embassy.
On social media, videos were shared showing a crowd of anti-Zionist protesters on a London tube train chanting “smash the Zionist settler state”, “resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied” and “there is only one solution – intifada revolution”.
Scream out "Smash the Zionist settler state" on the train. In case they weren't loud enough someone brought a drum. pic.twitter.com/ReG319G5Jx
— Harry's Place (@hurryupharry) November 4, 2023
In October, video footage was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that appeared to show a Central line driver leading tube passengers in a “Free Palestine” chant using the train’s announcement system.
British Transport Police (BTP) and Transport for London (TfL) have said they are investigating the incident, and that the driver had been suspended.
Police have imposed a condition under section 14 of the Public Order Act to prevent demonstrators gathering near the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London.
Before the rallies on Saturday, the chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, said the lines between pro-Palestinian protesters and “those who support the brutal terrorism of Hamas” had become “badly blurred”.
Writing in the Times, Mirvis highlighted a Manchester protest with a banner showing support for “Palestinian resistance” and said there was no ambiguity in the words used.
He wrote: “Did every person who attended that march truly wish to associate themselves with acts of such barbarity? I sincerely hope that they did not.
“Nevertheless, it could not be clearer that, at the very least, the lines between those who wish only to advocate for the welfare of innocent Palestinians and those who support the brutal terrorism of Hamas have become badly blurred.
“Those lines have remained blurred in the subsequent demonstrations, in which a minority have proudly displayed their extremism on their banners and in their chants, while the majority stand alongside them.”
The Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, responded to concerns from Rishi Sunak and the home secretary, Suella Braverman, about pro-Palestine protests planned to take place on Armistice Day next week.
Sunak said marches planned for 11 November would be “provocative and disrespectful” and warned that the Cenotaph – the focus of remembrance events – could be “desecrated” by protesters.
Both the march organisers and the Met have said the protest will avoid Whitehall, where the war memorial is located.
In a letter to Sunak, Rowley said: “Like you, I recognise the profound significance of Armistice Day and the events that take place across the weekend in central London and in communities across London.
“We will take a robust approach and yesterday I set out our intent to use all the powers available to the MPS [Metropolitan police service], including putting in place conditions, if required, to ensure events in Whitehall and the surrounding areas as well as other locations of significance across London are not undermined.”
Braverman, writing on X, described the planned protests as a “hate march” and said there was “an obvious risk of serious public disorder, violence and damage”.
The TV presenter and former England footballer Gary Lineker weighed into the row, defending the planned protests in a reply to the home secretary.
“Marching and calling for a ceasefire and peace so that more innocent children don’t get killed is not really the definition of a hate march,” he said.
