| Up to 150000 people took to the streets of London on Saturday in a mass show of solidarity with Palestinians caught under Israeli bombs in the Gaza Strip. The London demonstration was part of a wave of outrage at Israel. More than 10000 marched in Edinburgh. At least 30000 protested in Paris and 100000 in Barcelona. There were further marches in the US, Norway, Greece, Malaysia, Sweden, Bosnia, Lebanon, Thailand, South Korea and India. The London demonstration drew families, young people and trade unionists. As the march assembled Hyde Park had a thick covering of frost. Demonstrators braved freezing temperatures to march from Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, through Notting Hill Gate, up Kensington High Street by the Israeli embassy to a rally filling the road by Kensington Gardens. The good natured and determined march spilled across barriers to block whole roads, bringing parts of West London to a standstill. Towards the end of the rally marchers were still passing Queensway right across Hyde Park. Police initially claimed that only 12000 people marched (the same figure they chose for a sizable, but far smaller march last Saturday), though they later increased this to 20000. Many protesters stopped outside the gates to the road containing the embassy, to throw shoes. As the numbers grew after the rally, witnesses said riot police defending the gate sprayed white clouds of gas at a section of the crowd. Some fainted as they were overcome by the gas. Those who attempted to ... |
