Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested across London on May 17 to mark the anniversary of Nakba.

The demonstration began at Embankment, then headed toward Big Ben, crossed the river to Waterloo, crossed the bridge, and reached the gates of Downing Street.

The Metropolitan Police said they estimated that around 20,000 protesters took part in the march through London.

The PSC said the march was intended “to mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba of 1948 and to call on the British government to take action to end the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their land.”

Nakba, which means “catastrophe” in Arabic, is the name given by Palestinians to the violent expulsion of around 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and villages during the fighting surrounding the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, leading to the permanent displacement of more than half of the Palestinian population, according to the UN.

The anniversary coincided with reports that Donald Trump's administration was in talks with Libya to take in up to one million Palestinians from Gaza in exchange for billions of dollars. Previous statements by Trump about moving Palestinians from the enclave sparked outrage from the international community, which compared the plan to the Nakba. | BGNES