Students from across the UK attend pro-Palestine protest in London

Students from across the UK were among tens of thousands of protesters who marched through the streets of London on October 14, calling for a “free Palestine”.

People flooded the streets in solidarity with those trapped in Gaza, aiming to make a clear statement against the British government’s stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Protestors began amassing at the BBC’s Broadcasting House in Portland Place at 11:00am. Chants began ringing out, and by midday, the march began as roads were blocked from Marylebone to Downing Street.

Demonstrators then moved to Whitehall and converged around a stage erected directly outside of Downing Street. Unified shouts of “Rishi Sunak, shame on you!” were repeated, alongside “free, free Palestine” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” — a controversial slogan commonly invoked by pro-Palestine campaigners.

Over 2,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Hamas launched a series of attacks on Israel in the early hours of October 7, killing over 1,000 Israelis.

None of us are here to condone killing. None of us are here to condone occupation. None of us are here to allow this assault on the people of Gaza

Jeremy Corbyn, former Leader of the Labour Party

Speakers on the stage outside Whitehall included the Head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, Husam Zomlot, and former Leader of the Labour Party: Jeremy Corbyn.

On stage, Corbyn said: “There are many who say that nobody should be here today because they’ll be condoning terrible things. None of us are here to condone killing. None of us are here to condone occupation. None of us are here to allow this assault on the people of Gaza.”

The march follows a recent rise in antisemitic incidents in London. Met Police Deputy Commissioner Laurence Taylor stated that a “very significant policing operation” has been put in place to prevent any further incidents.

The protest was mostly peaceful with only 15 people being arrested, and the Met Police stated that they “passed off without any significant issues”.

The Met also stated that some areas of London would be covered by a legal power that would require a person to remove items of clothing that might be used to conceal their identity. This caused numerous confrontations with the police throughout the day.

One man outside of BBC Broadcasting House was surrounded by officers and told to remove his balaclava under threat of arrest.

The march had a significant student presence, with many attending from London universities such as UCL and LSE. Others attended from further afield, including Birmingham’s Aston University and Manchester Metropolitan University.

Ibrahim Khan, an Aston University postgraduate student, spoke to The Boar about his reasons for attending: “This has been going on for decades, more than half a century. Palestinians have been dying all this time and still nothing is done about it.”

When asked about what the mood on Aston University campus was like regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict, he said there was “not a lot of support” and that there was no Palestinian society.

Ibrahim travelled to London with almost 100 other people from Aylesbury on coaches organised by the Muslim Council of Britain.

Many students attended and marched with Socialist Appeal, a Marxist organisation, and handed out flyers and pamphlets.

One LSE undergraduate studying Business said: “The Palestinian masses have been oppressed by the Israeli occupation for far too long.”

Another student described to a crowd around her how a “mass mobilisation of students” was required to stop “genocide on a mass scale”.

A subject of controversy during the march was Hamas and what defined support for the group. Due to the UK government designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation, it is illegal to express support towards them.

Hamas cannot be mixed up with the people of Palestine. Their goals align with the free Palestine movement but not their methods

Manchester Metropolitan University student

A student studying at Manchester Metropolitan University said: “Hamas cannot be mixed up with the people of Palestine. Their goals align with the ‘free Palestine’ movement but not their methods.”

The protest was mostly devoid of open support for Hamas, but there were some incidents. The Met Police appealed to the public on X, asking for help identifying two women who were seen wearing images of Hamas militants on paragliders – a reference to Hamas’ use of them to cross the border from Gaza into Israel.

The rally may suggest that there is a significant part of the UK public that opposes the British government’s current stance on the conflict. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stated that Israel has “every right to defend itself” and, alongside many other countries in the West, continues to provide support to Israel.

The University of Warwick issued a statement in response to the recent escalation of the conflict:

“We know that this is an incredibly difficult time for many members of our community, and we ask everyone to respect and support each other at this time.

“We want to remind everyone that racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, abuse, incitement or harassment will never be tolerated and that any incidents of this should be reported through Report + Support.”

Warwick Students’ Union also released a statement:

“We are committed to promoting open and respectful dialogue between our students.

“However, whilst we acknowledge the strength of feeling around this issue, we will not tolerate any discrimination, racialised attacks, or targeting of individuals or groups as a result of their position on this matter.

“This has no place in our community, and we expect our members to treat each other with dignity and respect.”