Protest outside Barclays over bank's 'links to Israel' interrupted by man claining Hamas was to blame for the war
Protesting doctors and medical workers accused Israel of genocide as they marched through London carrying bundles symbolising dead babies.
Placards reading “Stop the genocide” and “Stop Israel’s Gaza genocide” were carried by dozens of healthcare workers marching from St Thomas Hospital to Downing Street calling for a ceasefire in the conflict.
Several held dolls wrapped in “bloodstained” bandages to represent the babies killed in Gaza by Israeli bombing.
Many of the marchers were dressed in hospital scrubs and wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, while others wore “press” helmets and shrapnel vests to symbolise members of the media killed in the conflict.
A young woman held a hand-drawn poster reading: “When injustice becomes normal resistance becomes a duty”
At one stage there was a brief scuffle in Whitehall when some protesters objected to the presence of a man filming them.
The march was called by Health Workers 4 Palestine, which describes itself as a “global non-partisan group of health workers/agencies/NGOs all working together for peace and prosperity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
Protests were also held in Leeds, where there were also placards reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine must be free”, a slogan that has been condemned as a call for the destruction of the state of Israel.
The London medical workers’ march followed a clash between a pro-Palestine activist and a counter-protest saying “Call Hamas for a ceasefire”.
Tore up a poster
The activist tore up a poster blaming Hamas for the Israel-Gaza conflict which was being held by a counter-protester near Centrepoint.
Footage showed a man standing among pro-Palestine activists outside a branch of Barclays Bank, holding a poster with the words “For a ceasefire call” above the name, photograph and apparent telephone number of Hamas leader Yaha Sinwar.
A masked man wrapped in a Palestinian flag is seen stepping forward and snatching the poster before scrunching it up in his hand.
The counter-protester then stepped forward to retrieve it as activists around him shouted: “Shut Barclays down” over its investment links with Israel.
Police officers at one point appeared to intervene to separate the two men, with one of the officers talking to the counter-protester who pointed out the man allegedly responsible for grabbing his poster.
He is then led away from the group of pro-Palestine activists by another officer.
Heckled by pro-Palestine activists
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