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MOSCOW, Oct 14 In London a rally of thousands in support of Palestine is taking place, despite threats from the authorities, Sky News reported.
““Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets of central London amid the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” the channel reports.
Protesters marched through the center of the British capital, waving banners and flags of Palestine and chanting slogans in support of its independence. The demonstrators' path also passed by Downing Street, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office is located. As he approached the office of the head of government, disapproving remarks were heard in the crowd addressed to him.
London police reported that they would use more than a thousand law enforcement officers to provide security at the rally.
Similar demonstrations took place in other cities UK, including Manchester and Edinburgh.
At the beginning of the week, the head of the British Interior Ministry, Suella Braverman, called on security forces to suppress unrest on the streets amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Law enforcement officers have repeatedly reminded that the Palestinian movement Hamas has been recognized in Britain as a terrorist organization and that its support and use of symbols may face criminal liability.
Exacerbation of the conflict in the Middle EastOn the morning of October 7, Israel was subjected to a large-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. In addition, after massive rocket attacks, the organization’s fighters penetrated into the border areas in the south of the Jewish state.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days of the attack, the military took control of all settlements near the Gaza border and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the territory: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was suspended.
The number of civilian deaths on each side exceeded a thousand, and several thousand Israelis and Palestinians were injured. Several dead and missing Russians, as well as citizens of other countries, were reported. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas.
Moscow called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to Vladimir Putin, resolving the Middle East crisis is possible exclusively on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is associated with territorial interests of the parties and has remained a source of tension and fighting in the region for decades. The UN decision in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created. Israel, while declaring agreement with the two-state principle, did not completely liberate the Palestinian territories.