Thousands rally in London in support of Gaza, demand new PM take action

Demonstrators call on Andy Burnham to impose arms embargo on Israel and pressure its government to end genocide.

Thousands of people have gathered in the British capital to protest Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, calling on the incoming prime minister to take immediate action.

Demonstrators in London demanded on Saturday that Andy Burnham impose an arms embargo on Israel and pressure Tel Aviv to end its siege and war on the enclave, which has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Belgium bans imports from Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine
• list 2 of 3Andy Burnham apology for Labour stance on Gaza: Is UK’s position shifting?
• list 3 of 3Andy Burnham in line to become British PM after securing party support

Labour leader Burnham is set to officially become the UK’s next prime minister on Monday.

“Three years of ongoing genocide – and the movement for justice and accountability, in Britain and worldwide, is growing louder and stronger,” said Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, in a post on X.

Burnham’s Labour Party has been severely criticised for its handling of the genocide under outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Despite mounting evidence that Israel has committed war crimes, his government continued to supply the country with weapons.

Critics accuse Starmer and his cabinet of taking only symbolic measures against Israel, such as sanctioning far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Burnham faces a series of challenges as prime minister, including a cost-of-living crisis, spiralling student debt, a shortage of affordable housing and an exodus of party members over Labour’s lacklustre response to Gaza.

Zomlot led protesters as they marched through London, chanting slogans and carrying placards in support of Palestine.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was expelled from the party by Starmer, also attended the march. Corbyn urged Burnham to end what he described as the UK’s complicity in genocide.

“Thousands of us are in London today with a message to the new Prime Minister: we are not disappearing, we are not going away, and we will never stop campaigning for the liberation of Palestine. End Britain’s complicity in genocide, now,” Corbyn said in a post on X.