Pro-Palestine protesters shut down Tower Bridge in London on Saturday, shortly after thousands attended a mass protest in Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
On Saturday evening, London Metropolitan Police announced that a group of pro-Palestine protesters had blocked Tower Bridge and that officers had arrived to enforce order.
An hour later, the Met Police stated that the groups had been dispersed and several arrests had been made.
BREAKING: TOWER BRIDGE BLOCKEDToday, Youth Demand and a coalition of groups shut down the bridge to demand the UK Government stops arming Israel. This is just the start. In the next weeks, young people will be doing the same all over the UK. Sign up: https://t.co/rqU3Oswm2K pic.twitter.com/QYpZBsHW5l
— Youth Demand (@youth_demand) October 19, 2024
In videos circulated on social media, protesters can be seen shouting 'free Palestine,' spraying red and green paint, and waving both Palestinian and Lebanese flags. Many of the attendees can be seen wearing keffiyehs or masks or both.
In other videos, people can be heard chanting "hands off the Middle East" and calling for intifada.
Large crowds can be seen blocking London buses from using the road.
#London #tower_bridge Solidarity with #Palestine closes tower Bridge pic.twitter.com/xski5LGoTG
— #محمد_الفاتح_خوخي (@medkhoukhi) October 19, 2024
National Action Week
A group named Youth Demand claimed to have been part of a coalition that organized the event and shut down the bridge.
Youth Demand said it demanded that the UK government stop arming Israel. The group also announced that young people across the UK will take to the streets for a so-called "National Action Week" commencing November 11.
The other groups involved were the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Prayers4Gaza, Palestine Pulse, Thanet 4 Palestine, and Ealing Friends of Palestine.
Members of Youth Demand were arrested for covering a Picasso painting with a photo of a mother and child from Gaza last week at the National Gallery in London.