Hundreds march in London to protest against Britain’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state

LONDON - Several hundred people marched in London on Aug 10 to demand the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and to criticise Britain’s planned recognition of a Palestinian state.

Joined by several relatives of the hostages, the march ended at the 10 Downing Street office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said

Britain will recognise a Palestinian state

if Israel does not agree to a truce in its war with Hamas.

Many of the protesters waved Israeli flags or wore yellow ribbons, a symbol of solidarity with the hostages, whose liberation the organisers of the march argue should be the Labour leader’s priority.

Of the 251 hostages Hamas seized in its Oct 7, 2023, attack which sparked the war in Gaza, 49 are still held captive, including 27 whom the Israeli army says are dead.

Among the demonstrators were Ms Ayelet Stavitsky, sister of dead hostage Nadav Popplewell, and Mr Adam Ma’anit, cousin of Tsachi Idan, who died while held by Hamas.

“I think that the government got it wrong with its foreign policy, that it’s time for it to correct and refocus on the hostages,” said Mr Ma’anit, criticising Mr Starmer’s planned recognition of a Palestinian state in September.

Three people, identified as counter-protesters, were arrested, two of them for violent acts, police said.

Israel has faced mounting outcry over the 22-month-long war with Hamas, with UN-backed experts warning of widespread famine in besieged Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages, as well as over his plans to expand the Gaza war, which he has vowed to do without the backing of Israel’s allies abroad.

Mr Starmer’s move towards recognising a State of Palestine follows on from similar pledges made by leaders including

France’s President Emmanuel Macron,

as international disquiet over the dire humanitarian in the Palestinian territory grows.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 61,430 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, whose toll the United Nations considers reliable.

Hamas’ 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. AFP