Man arrested as thousands march to protest Trump's 'Riviera of the Middle East' Gaza plan
15 February 2025, 17:32 | Updated: 15 February 2025, 20:09
Thousands of pro-Palestine campaigners have marched through central London in what organisers claimed was one of the largest protests since war broke out between Hamas and Israel.
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The demonstration came after a proposal by President Donald Trump earlier this month for the United States to consider taking ownership of the Gaza Strip.
He suggested the US could redevelop the war-torn territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".
The Metropolitan Police said they arrested a 79-year-old on suspicion of a public order offence after a man was seen to make what appeared to be a Nazi salute towards the counter-protest.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), along with demonstrators from five other groups, gathered in Whitehall at noon on Saturday before marching to the US embassy in Nine Elms Lane, south-west London, where speeches were made.
Protesters marched holding signs and banners that read "Hands off Gaza", "Stand up to Trump", and "Mr Trump, Canada is not your 51st state. Gaza is not your 52nd".
Speakers outside the embassy included former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who called on "the whole world" to reject Trump's plan.
A counter-protest by Stop The Hate took place along the route of the march at the junction of Grosvenor Road and Vauxhall Bridge.
The groups were separated by barriers and a marked area protected by police officers to ensure they did not physically come together.
The march was the 24th major pro-Palestine protest in the UK since the October 7 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants which killed some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, with around 250 people held captive.
Earlier on Saturday, Hamas handed over another three male Israeli hostages to the Red Cross as part of a shaky ceasefire deal.
