Anti-Israel Demonstrations Held on Eve of October 7th Anniversary
October 06, 2024
1:15 PM
Reading time: 3 minutes
Ahead of the one year anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel, anti-Israel demonstrations were held in several cities around the world on Saturday, including in the US, UK, several European countries, India, the Philippines and elsewhere. Official and unofficial commemorations of the attack are also scheduled in many cities, which are expected to attract even more anti-Israel demonstrations.
Probably the largest anti-Israel demonstrations took place in London, where the “National March for Palestine” attracted several tens of thousands of marchers chanting "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free" and "hands off Lebanon" among others.
Signs expressing support for Hezbollah were also seen at this demonstration, despite it being a crime in the UK to openly express support for Hezbollah or any other proscribed terrorist organization. One person was arrested on this charge, while others were arrested for assaulting an emergency worker and 11 others were charged with other crimes.
Police in London said they were examining video of the event to try and identify those who had been holding signs expressing support for Hamas and/or Hezbollah. But Pro-Israel groups say that such demonstrations have become normalized and the police have done little to stop it.
Smaller anti-Israel demonstrations were held in other cities, with several of them devolving into violent clashes with police.
Meanwhile, ceremonies commemorating the victims of the October 7 attack were scheduled in several cities including London, Washington, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Berlin. AN official ceremony will be held on Monday in Jerusalem, with members of the international diplomatic corps expected to be in attendance.