TENS of thousands are set to march through central London on Saturday to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a halt to arms sales to Israel. 

Protesters are due to set off from Park Lane down to Whitehall in a demonstration called by a coalition of groups including Stop the War, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Friends of Al-Aqsa. 

Actors Juliet Stevenson and Khalid Abdalla, Oxfam CEO Halima Begum, Palestinian Dr Ahmad Mukallalati and MPs Kim Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are among those due to speak at the rally.

A Stop the War spokesperson said: “We said we’d stay on the streets until there’s a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“We urge everyone who can march to join us on Saturday in the ever-growing call on Keir Starmer and David Lammy to end all support for Israel as it pursues its genocide in Gaza, and for our government to uphold international law and unequivocally commit to arresting Benjamin Netanyahu should he set foot on British soil.”

Saturday’s protest will be the 21st national demonstration for Palestine to take place since Israel escalated its attacks in October 2023.

Tomorrow, thousands of workers and students are set to take action in what is expected to be one of the largest workplace days of action.

Demonstrations will continue next week. On Tuesday, PSC has called for a protest outside the Global Banking Summit in London to demand that Barclays and other banks divest from companies arming Israel’s onslaught.