Thousands of protesters gathered outside of the British Parliament in London on Sunday to call for the release of hostages taken from Israel by Hamas terrorists last month.
Parliament Square was covered on Sunday morning with thousands of protesters waving British and Israeli flags as they demanded the release of an estimated 240 people kidnapped by Islamist Hamas terrorists during the October 7th attacks on the Jewish state that left over 1,200 dead.
Holding flyers featuring the pictures of those taken hostage by Hamas, the demonstrators were recorded singing the “Hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem, as well as “God Save the King” and other songs of peace, according to footage posted on social media. The demonstrators were also heard chanting: “Bring them home!”
The indiscriminate brutality of the Hamas attacks last month saw many foreign tourists also killed and taken hostage from Israel, including 12 slain Britons and at least three British nationals who are still classified as missing.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously described the Hamas attacks as an “existential strike at the very idea of Israel as the home for the Jewish people” and said that it should be viewed as a “pogrom” — the term often used to describe the organised massacre of Jews.
A female activist from Iran addressed the crowd in Parliament Square on Sunday and castigated the Islamist regime in control of the previously liberal Persian state for backing Hamas and other terror groups against Israel.
“The Islamic Republic [of Iran] is the supporter, the trainer and the biggest funder of terrorism in the Middle East. [It] is holding my entire nation hostage as they are posing attacks on your free-living democratic nation,” she said.
“The atrocities that we have been witnessing against women, children, babies, the elderly, people in a music festival, just youths celebrating peace, is being celebrated today in London, Paris, Milan and all over America.
“The people of Iran are on your side… so down with the Islamic Republic of Iran, down with Hamas, down with Hezbollah!”
The peaceful protest on Sunday in Parliament Square came after yet another large-scale anti-Israel demonstration in London on Saturday, in which 29 people were arrested for “inciting racial hatred and racially aggravated public order.”
Two people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the Terrorism Act, the Metropolitan Police said, as well as a man for allegedly making antisemitic comments during a speech at the rally. Three people were also arrested for assaults on police officers.
The pro-Palestine protests held in London each of the past four weekends have coincided with a drastic increase in antisemitic incidents in the British capital, with the Met revealing that in the two weeks following the Hamas attacks on Israel, there was a staggering 1,350 per cent increase in antisemitic acts in London.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect a revised number on the death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Israeli government estimate of 1,400 was revised to around 1,200, according to Reuters.