More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Hundreds of people have marched through the streets in Kent as part of a large demonstration in solidarity with Palestine.
The event in Chatham was one of several national demonstrations which took place today – as a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine after days of violence in Gaza holds.
Protestors march in Chatham today in solidarity with the people of Palestine (Video: Fethia Zrari)
The peaceful protest was held by the Medway Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Organisers said the march was set up to "support our brothers and sisters in Palestine, to give them courage to stand against Israeli oppression and brutality".
Chairman Steve Wilkins estimated about 500 people took part.
Photos and footage from the event show the large crowd waving Palestine flags, and holding posters that read 'free Palestine' and 'stop the bombing' outside the Pentagon Centre in Chatham town centre.
Mr Wilkins said: "It went very well. I'd estimate there were probably at a guess about 500 people - it was big."
Demonstrators assembled at the library gardens on Chatham riverside at 3pm.
"We then marched down The Brook and then around the bottom, and back up the High Street," said Mr Wilkins.
"Then we rallied in Military Road, outside The Pentagon, where we had a range of speakers."
Thousands of people have also marched through central London today, in solidarity with Palestine.
They congregated at Victoria Embankment before making their way to Hyde Park, where an estimated 180,000 people were protesting.
The protests came after an 11-day military offensive between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip.
Some demonstrators at the London event could be seen wearing costumes, masks and face paint, while others were draped in the Palestinian flag.
Groups of police watched as some protesters climbed bus stops and lampposts and wrote “Free Palestine” on walls.
Chants of “Israel is a terrorist state” and “We are all Palestinians” could be heard during the London march.
The Medway Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) group is taking part in the national Take the Knee movement on Tuesday to mark the first anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by police in the USA.
The event will take place at Jackson's Field in Rochester at 7pm.
Mr Wilkins, who is also an SUTR member, said it was important to remember it to prevent the issue disappearing into history.
"The point of course is this is not an incident that is one that is finished.
"The Black Lives Matter movement exposed something that is not uncommon and it's not uncommon here in the UK. We are not innocent when it comes to institutional racism."
