London marchers urge incoming UK prime minister to act on Gaza
Thousands rallied in London, pressing Andy Burnham to halt arms sales to Israel and push for an end to the war and siege in Gaza.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Thousands of people rallied in London on Saturday in support of Palestinians in Gaza, urging incoming UK prime minister Andy Burnham to take immediate action, Al Jazeera reported. The march put pressure on Burnham days before he is expected to take office, with protesters calling for an arms embargo on Israel and a stronger UK push to end Israel’s siege and war on Gaza.
According to Al Jazeera, demonstrators demanded that Burnham press Tel Aviv to stop the assault on the enclave. Al Jazeera reported that more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Burnham, the Labour leader, is set to formally become Britain’s next prime minister on Monday, Al Jazeera reported. The rally underscored the political pressure he faces from pro-Palestinian campaigners and figures on the left as he prepares to enter Downing Street.
Pressure on Labour over Gaza
Al Jazeera reported that Burnham’s Labour Party has faced heavy criticism over its approach to Gaza under outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The report said Starmer’s government continued supplying weapons to Israel despite what it described as mounting evidence that Israel had committed war crimes.
Critics cited by Al Jazeera have accused Starmer and his cabinet of taking measures they regard as symbolic rather than decisive. Those measures included sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, according to the report.
Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, said in a post on X that the campaign for accountability was gaining force. “Three years of ongoing genocide – and the movement for justice and accountability, in Britain and worldwide, is growing louder and stronger,” Zomlot wrote, according to Al Jazeera.
Zomlot led protesters as they moved through London carrying placards and chanting slogans in support of Palestine, Al Jazeera reported. The demonstration drew thousands, according to the outlet.
Corbyn joins the march
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also attended the march, according to Al Jazeera. Corbyn, who was expelled from Labour by Starmer, called on Burnham to end what he described as Britain’s complicity in genocide.
“Thousands of us are in London today with a message to the new Prime Minister: we are not disappearing, we are not going away, and we will never stop campaigning for the liberation of Palestine. End Britain’s complicity in genocide, now,” Corbyn wrote on X, according to Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera reported that Burnham will take office while facing several domestic pressures, including a cost-of-living crisis, rising student debt, a shortage of affordable housing and the departure of party members angered by Labour’s response to Gaza. The London march showed that Gaza will be among the immediate political tests awaiting him.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.