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| Hundreds block off Westminster Bridge in call for Gaza ceasefire | Hundreds block off Westminster Bridge in call for Gaza ceasefire |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of Palestine | Protesters also call for UK to stop arms sales to Israel and end to Israeli occupation of Palestine |
| Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year. | Hundreds of protesters in London have staged a sit-in on Westminster Bridge, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza in the first big demonstration of the year. |
| Elsewhere on Saturday, there were protests in Belfast and Dublin. | |
| The London protesters blocked off the bridge and the surrounding roads after a march from St James’s Park in the centre of the city. | |
| The demonstration, organised by the Free Palestine Coalition, renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It also called for the UK to stop arms sales to Israel and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. | The demonstration, organised by the Free Palestine Coalition, renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It also called for the UK to stop arms sales to Israel and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. |
| The group announced a meeting location – a drinking fountain in St James’s Park – at 10am on Saturday and protesters began to gather around midday. | The group announced a meeting location – a drinking fountain in St James’s Park – at 10am on Saturday and protesters began to gather around midday. |
| The Metropolitan police made several arrests at the park, before protesters marched through Westminster and were then stopped by officers in Parliament Square, next to Big Ben. | The Metropolitan police made several arrests at the park, before protesters marched through Westminster and were then stopped by officers in Parliament Square, next to Big Ben. |
| Hundreds of the protesters joined a sit-in on the bridge, with some staging a die-in, laying down and refusing to leave. Protesters chanted: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more,” while clapping and shouting “free Palestine” and holding up flags and placards demanding the British government support Palestine. | Hundreds of the protesters joined a sit-in on the bridge, with some staging a die-in, laying down and refusing to leave. Protesters chanted: “One, two, three, four, occupation no more,” while clapping and shouting “free Palestine” and holding up flags and placards demanding the British government support Palestine. |
| Some protesters wore face masks of British politicians, including Rishi Sunak and the US president, Joe Biden, and held up hands covered in red paint. | Some protesters wore face masks of British politicians, including Rishi Sunak and the US president, Joe Biden, and held up hands covered in red paint. |
| The Met police said on Saturday afternoon: “All protesters have now left the area around Westminster Bridge. Officers remain on-duty in central London and are ready to respond to any further demonstrations.” | |
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| Thousands of people in Belfast marched at a rally outside Belfast city hall, also calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. | |
| People carried placards criticising the Israeli regime and gathered outside the gates of the building to hear a series of speeches, interspersed with chants and songs voicing support for the Palestinian people. | |
| Outside RTÉ’s headquarters in Dublin, 108 pairs of shoes were laid out, each pair representing a journalist killed since the conflict began in October, activists said. |