There will be a Palestine march and counter rally in London this weekend. The police are preparing for this.

There will be a Palestine march and counter rally in London this weekend. The police are preparing for this.

Officers said businesses and residents were being asked what they thought about the impact of two events taking place at the same time.

There will be a pro-Palestinian march and counter-protest in central London on Saturday, and hundreds of police officers will be in attendance.

At 12 noon, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign rally will march from Whitehall across Vauxhall Bridge to Nine Elms, where participants will meet near the US embassy.

Stop Hate UK is organising a separate demonstration on the corner of Millbank and Vauxhall Bridge to speak out against the PSC march.

On this eventful day, Metropolitan Police officers will also be monitoring several football matches, the England v New Zealand rugby international at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham and a large fireworks display in Battersea Park, for which visitors will have to pay.

Commander Adam Slonecki, who is in charge of the policing operation, said top officers have been working with organisers to ensure there is as little disruption as possible to businesses, residents and venues along the route.

In its “March for Palestine”,” the PSC is calling for a full arms embargo on Israel one year after the killings in Gaza by Hamas on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s response.

“Prior to the weekend, we held regular discussions with the PSC as well as local residents, partners, community groups and businesses,” said Commander Slonecki.

“There are many events taking place in London this weekend and we have been working with the organisers to keep things as quiet as possible while still giving people the opportunity to protest.”

“The police will be very present along the protest route and in the surrounding area to ensure the safety of the events and deal with any criminal offences.”

Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, said: “On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people will march to commemorate Israel’s genocide that has killed at least 41,000 Palestinians, destroyed Gaza’s social infrastructure and forced more than two million people to leave their homes.”

“We have been warning for months that an acquittal of Israel for its crimes could put thousands of innocent Palestinians at risk and trigger a wider war.”

“A major war is imminent.” Because they want peace, they want Palestinian rights to be respected and they want international law to be followed without bias. They will demand that Britain stops being complicit in these crimes.

Mangesh Wakchaure is a veteran writer working at London Lens, focusing on foreign news coverage on a range of topics.