200,000 protesters in London reject Trump's plan: Gaza is not for sale

Today, about 200,000 demonstrators took to the streets of the British capital, London, in support of the Palestinian people and in rejection of US President Donald Trump’s calls to seize the Gaza Strip and displace the Palestinians. The demonstration started in front of the British government headquarters, toured the streets of London, and concluded in front of the US embassy.

This demonstration comes at the invitation of the solidarity movements with the Palestinian people in the United Kingdom after the ceasefire agreement to confirm the continued support for the Palestinian people in light of the escalation of the Israeli occupation's aggression on the West Bank.

This is the twenty-fourth march in the British capital since the start of the war of extermination launched by the Israeli occupation on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, which left tens of thousands of martyrs and wounded and widespread destruction.

Gaza is not for sale

Protesters held up signs reading "Gaza is not for sale" and "Gaza is for the Palestinians", while many chanted "Donald Trump, your plan will fail".

Speaking to Dovuchi Savage, an activist in the Health Workers for Palestine movement, he said to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “We are here to demonstrate against our government’s policy of supporting Israel. The International Court of Justice’s opinion is clear: Israel is on trial for genocide and has given orders to prevent genocide, which our government has not respected.”

He added: "We are here because thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and wounded, including twenty thousand children, and our government continues to supply Israel with weapons."

In a conversation with activist Ben from the Global Jewish Network Against Zionism, he told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “Our message, in addition to stopping the arming of Israel and the freedom of Palestine, is to expel Israeli Ambassador Tzipi Obiliv from London because she publicly expressed her support for the acts of genocide in Gaza.”

"She is a war criminal like (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and every Friday we demonstrate in front of her house to demand her expulsion and we always participate in the national demonstrations in London for Gaza," he added.

Reject Trump's plan

At the end of the demonstration, a number of politicians and activists spoke from the podium opposite the American embassy. Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn referred to these days as a reminder of the demonstrations that took place exactly 22 days ago in 2003 against the war on Iraq, and said: “We reject attempts to prevent and restrict.”

He added: "We will not stop our movement no matter how long it takes, and the whole world must reject Trump's plan. The people will not leave Gaza. There is no force in the world that can impose ethnic cleansing on the Palestinians."

Corbyn continued: "The International Court of Justice said that the issue is not only the targeting of civilians in Gaza, but the entire occupation. Our message is that while the Palestinians are returning to their destroyed homes and searching for bodies, at the same time they will rebuild Gaza and the next generation will live freely in their homeland and we will forever be friends with the Palestinian people."

For her part, MP Zara Sultana said, “This is not a conflict, but a system of destruction, displacement and demolition, and what we are seeing now in the West Bank reflects that. The ethnic cleansing of two million Palestinians in Gaza is a disgrace to the world and a disgrace to the United States, Britain and Germany for supporting genocide.”

She stressed that "the Palestinian people have resisted the occupation for decades and it is an ongoing struggle that cannot be broken until liberation. Shame on the politicians in our country who colluded with the occupation. We will not stop demonstrating or remaining silent until Palestine is liberated, the occupation ends and every Palestinian is free."

Complicity in the war of extermination

Fares Amer, speaking on behalf of the Palestinian Forum in Britain, said: “Gaza is not for Trump and not for Netanyahu. Every piece of Palestinian land is for the Palestinians. The United States is an empire built on genocide and is not a neutral party.”

He pointed out that "peace will not be achieved until peace is achieved for the Palestinian people and the occupation ends. From here we ask, where is the Palestinian Authority in what is happening? The Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, continues to coordinate security with the occupation. If you want to represent the Palestinian people, you must end the division and coordination with the occupation."

Yasmine Adam from the Islamic Foundation in Britain said: “We are a movement that rejects silence and complicity in genocide. This is a global movement against injustice and a call to action. We tell Trump that your plan for Gaza will fail... because Gaza has foiled all previous displacement plans. Gaza will fight anyone who seeks to erase it. This is the largest movement in history against war, genocide and displacement.”

Daniel Capetti, speaking on behalf of a coalition of British education unions representing half a million people, said: “Trump wants to carry out the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through this plan, which Netanyahu and his far-right coalition have welcomed.”

He added, "We cannot return to the brutality that the world witnessed. The United Kingdom is complicit in the genocide of Gaza. We salute the Palestinian people who have returned by the tens of thousands to their homes in northern Gaza. We will go out for the Palestinians in Gaza and we will not stop."

The victims of the Israeli war of extermination on the Gaza Strip have reached 48,264 martyrs, in addition to 111,688 wounded since October 7, 2023, according to the latest data announced by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, today, Saturday, February 15, 2025.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Al-Araby Al-Jadeed