Thousands march in London for Palestine on Nakba Day amid heavy police presence

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets in central London to mark the 78th anniversary of Nakba Day on Saturday.

Arabic for “catastrophe,” Nakba refers to the forced displacement of more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland in 1948 during the illegal creation of Israel.

Protesters carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans in support of Palestine amid heightened security across the British capital.

Many participants also held signs reading “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

More than 4,000 police officers were deployed across London as authorities launched one of the largest security operations in recent years.

The Metropolitan Police used drones, mounted officers, dogs, and live facial recognition technology to monitor the demonstrations and maintain separation between rival groups.

Saturday’s anniversary is the third Nakba commemoration since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, and comes as more than two million Palestinians remain displaced across the besieged strip.

The Nakba refers to the systematic displacement of Palestinians between 1947 and 1949, when Zionist paramilitary groups captured towns and villages.

Historians say roughly one-third of the Palestinian population at the time was forced from their homes, and more than 400 villages and urban neighborhoods were depopulated or destroyed.

Hundreds of thousands of those expelled and their descendants now live in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and across the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The Palestine solidarity march in London remained largely focused on condemning Israeli war crimes and expressing support for Palestinian refugees demanding the right to return to their homeland.

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