Worldwide protests took place this weekend against Israel’s continuing merciless attack on Gaza which has so far killed at least 420 Palestinians, including many children.

As tens of thousands marched through London, demonstrators took to the streets of New York, Berlin, Paris, Seoul, Johannesburg, Brussels, Jakarta, Athens, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

In Glasgow thousands joined the call for an end to Israeli military action — a call echoed in Aberdeen and Hull.

Protesters in London rallied at Downing Street and marched to the Israeli embassy, where they were confronted by a police blockade protecting the building.

Labour MP Diane Abbott told demonstrators: “I am here to show solidarity with the people in Gaza.

“We call for an end to the occupation and justice for Palestinians.”

Respect MP George Galloway compared the killing of nearly 300 passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with the slaughter of innocents in Palestine.

“The 300 Palestinians are completely ignored by the same newspapers, by the same television stations and by the same political leaders who are threatening sanctions and war against Russia but who are supporting, with weapons and money and diplomatic, political and media support, the Israeli killers.

“Why the double standard? Why is the blood in Ukraine so much more noteworthy than the blood in Gaza?”

Baroness Jenny Tonge said Israel “has lost its legitimacy, it is no longer a democratic state.

“It breaks international law, the Geneva conventions, it has no respect for human rights. Israel must leave the international family of nations.”

In a rousing speech Stop the War Coalition convenor Lindsey German said: “There are daily killings going on in Gaza and this is somehow treated as Israel defending itself.”

She said the shooting down of an airliner over Ukraine had been condemned as “atrocious.”

“What about the atrocious acts happening to the people of Gaza, and why are they reported so differently in the media, as they are?”

She accused Prime Minister David Cameron, US President Barack Obama and so-called peace envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair of being complicit in what was happening to Gaza.