This is a list of pro-Palestinian protests in the United Kingdom including demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, direct actions, and campus encampments in support of Palestinian rights.
Estimated attendance is either mentioned explicitly in the references or a midpoint is used, i.e., 50 when dozens are mentioned, 500 when hundreds are mentioned, and so on.
Date | City/town | Estimated attendance | Description | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
17 September 1983 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. | [1] |
18 May 2002 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and rally in the Trafalgar Square. | [2] |
17 May 2003 | ![]() | 6,000 | Demonstration in the Trafalgar Square on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Nakba. | [3] |
27 September 2003 | ![]() | 100,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center in solidarity with Palestinian and Iraqi victims. | [4] |
22 July 2006 | ![]() | 10,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Protesters also showed support for the victims of the Israeli attacks amid the 2006 Lebanon War. | [5] |
3 January 2009 | ![]() | 6,000-50,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Protesters threw thousands of shoes symbolizing anger against the latest wave of bombing by Israel on Gaza. | [6] |
10 January 2009 | ![]() | 100,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [7] |
17 January 2009 | ![]() | 3,000-5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [8] |
17 January 2009 | ![]() | 3,500 | Demonstration in the Trafalgar Square. | [8] |
2 September 2011 | ![]() | ? | Disruption of a concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. | [9] |
12 April 2012 | ![]() | 300 | Demonstration outside the Israeli embassy. A group of 500 pro-Israel demonstrators was also present. Clashes occurred between the groups. Ended with police intervention. Several protesters were injured. Six pro-Palestine protesters were arrested. | [10] |
26 July 2014 | ![]() | 45,000-100,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [11] [12] |
9 August 2014 | ![]() | 20,000-150,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [13] [14] [15] |
17 October 2015 | ![]() | 150 | Blocking of traffic at Oxford Circus. | [16] |
4 November 2017 | ![]() | 3,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center in protest of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. | [17] [18] |
8 December 2017 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration outside the U.S. embassy against Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Bella Hadid joined the protests. | [19] |
30 March 2019 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration outside the Israeli embassy. | [20] |
30 March 2019 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [21] |
11 May 2019 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [22] |
6 September 2020 | ![]() | 50 | Demonstration outside the headquarters of Elbit Systems to highlight its role in supplying 85% of the drones used by the Israeli army and demanding its immediate closure. | [23] |
15 May 2021 | ![]() | 150,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center in response to the escalation of attacks by the Israeli army amid the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. Thirteen protesters were arrested. | [24] [25] [26] |
22 May 2021 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [27] |
22 May 2021 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [27] |
22 May 2021 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [27] |
22 May 2021 | ![]() | 180,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [27] [28] |
12 June 2021 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center to demand the stopping of arms sales with Israel. | [29] |
26 June 2021 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [30] |
Date | City/town | Estimated attendance | Description | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
24 March 2023 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration and march through the city center in protest of a visit by Benjamin Netanyahu. | [31] |
5 July 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [32] [33] |
9 October 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration outside the Israeli embassy. Three protesters were arrested. | [34] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration in the city center. | [35] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration in the city center. | [35] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration in the city center. | [35] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Defacing of the facade of the BBC headquarters in Portland Place with red paint. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] [35] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | 1,500 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [36] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [37] |
14 October 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [38] |
20 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Peace vigil held in the square outside the town hall. | [39] |
21 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration outside the BBC Northern Ireland headquarters. | [40] |
21 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [40] |
21 October 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [40] |
21 October 2023 | ![]() | 1,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [40] |
21 October 2023 | ![]() | 100,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Ten protesters were arrested. | [41] [40] |
28 October 2023 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [42] |
28 October 2023 | ![]() | 600 | Demonstration and march through the city center. One protester was arrested the following morning at home in connection to this march. | [43] |
28 October 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [44] |
28 October 2023 | ![]() | 70,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Nine protesters were arrested. | [45] |
4 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Sit-in at the train station. | [46] |
4 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Sit-in at the train station. | [46] |
4 November 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration outside Manchester Central Library. | [46] [47] |
4 November 2023 | ![]() | 30,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Blocking of traffic with a sit-in in Oxford Street. 29 protesters were arrested. | [46] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [48] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration in the city center. Blocking of tram traffic. | [49] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [48] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [48] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [48] |
11 November 2023 | ![]() | 300,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [50] [48] [51] |
25 November 2023 | ![]() | 45,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [52] [53] |
9 December 2023 | ![]() | 50,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [54] |
Date | City/town | Estimated attendance | Description | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
13 January 2024 | ![]() | 5,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Nine protesters were arrested. | [55] |
3 February 2024 | ![]() | 10,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [56] |
17 February 2024 | ![]() | 200,000-250,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Twelve protesters were arrested. | [57] [58] |
20 February 2024 | ![]() | 500 | Occupation of the media building of the Goldsmiths, University of London. Lasted at least until 25 February. | [59] |
7 March 2024 | ![]() | ? | Occupation of the Parkinson Building of the University of Leeds. | [60] [61] |
8 March 2024 | ![]() | ? | Occupation of the Victoria Rooms of the University of Bristol. | [62] |
8 March 2024 | ![]() | ? | Occupation of the Professor Stuart Hall building of the Goldsmiths, University of London as an escalation of the action started on the 20 February. | [63] |
9 March 2024 | ![]() | 400,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [64] |
19 March 2024 | ![]() | ? | Occupation of the Wills Memorial Building of the University of Bristol. | [65] |
25 March 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the campus of the University College London. Lasted at least until 26 April. | [66] |
22 April 2024 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration at the University of Leicester. | [67] |
22 April 2024 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration outside the Elbit Systems UK drone factory. | [67] |
26 April 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the campus piazza of the University of Warwick. The encampment was later moved to outside Warwick's Senate House. Lasted until 26 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own. | [68] [69] |
1 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the University of Manchester. Lasted until 17 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own. | [70] [71] |
1 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the University of Leeds. Lasted until 19 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own under threat of legal action. | [72] |
1 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the University of Sheffield and the Sheffield Hallam University. Lasted until 23 September. Ended by protesters being evicted and relocated to a nearby park. | [73] [74] |
1 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the University College. Protesters also occupied the library at Goldsmiths. On 3 May, Goldsmiths agreed to the protester's demands, naming a building after Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, review the University's policy regarding the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, and to erect an installation on campus memorializing the protest. | [75] [76] |
1 May 2024 | ![]() | 40-200 | Encampment at the Newcastle University. Lasted at least until 24 June. | [77] [78] [79] |
6 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the King’s College campus of the University of Aberdeen. | [80] [81] |
6 May 2024 | ![]() | 200 | Encampment at the lawn of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History of the Oxford University. Lasted until 25 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own. | [82] [83] [84] |
7 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Sit-in at Queen's University Belfast. Among other demands, protesters called for Hillary Clinton to be removed as the university's chancellor. | [85] [86] |
8 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at Abercromby Square at the University of Liverpool and unofficially renamed after the murdered Gazan poet Refaat Alareer. | [87] |
8 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at Bangor University. | [88] |
9 May 2024 | ![]() | 10-15 | Encampment at Alexandra Square of the Lancaster University. | [89] |
10 May 2024 | ![]() | 15-20 | Encampment at Durham University. Lasted until 21 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own. | [90] [91] |
10 May 2024 | ![]() | 40 | Encampment outside the Advanced Manufacturing building on Jubilee Campus of the University of Nottingham. | [92] |
13 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at Queen Mary University of London. | [93] |
13 May 2024 | ![]() | 50 | Encampment at the Library Square of the University of Sussex. | [94] |
14 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at Cardiff University. | [95] |
14 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment in front of the Lincoln Arts Centre of the University of Lincoln. | [96] |
14 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the Penryn Campus of the University of Exeter and Falmouth University. | [97] |
14 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the Streatham campus of the University of Exeter. | [98] [99] |
14 May 2024 | ![]() | 500 | Encampment at the Marshall Hall of the London School of Economics. Lasted until 17 June following a court order for eviction. | [100] [101] |
15 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at the University of York. | [102] |
15 May 2024 | ![]() | 100 | Demonstration outside of Trinity College, Cambridge to protest against the college's alleged complicity in the Gaza war, holding up signs like "Trinity College funds genocide" and "Gaza has been held hostage for 107 years". | [103] |
18 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration and march through the city center on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. | [104] |
18 May 2024 | ![]() | 50 | Die-in and disruption of a graduation ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre. | [105] [106] |
19 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment outside the Radcliffe Camera on Radcliffe Square. The Bodleian Library responded by limiting access via the Gladstone Link. Lasted until 8 July. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own under threat of legal action. | [107] [108] [109] |
20 May 2024 | Reading | ? | Encampment at the University of Reading. | [110] |
23 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration at Oxford University. Protesters occupied the office building of Vice-Chancellor Irene Tracey, overlooking Wellington Square, hanging a Palestinian flag and list of demands out of an office window. Ended with police intervention. 17 protesters were arrested. | [111] [112] [113] |
23 May 2024 | ![]() | 100 | Demonstration in support of the protesters arrested at Oxford University. Ended with police intervention. Some protesters were injured, including a student suffering a concussion and an elderly lady being knocked over. | [114] [115] |
27 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Encampment at Imperial College London. Lasted until 20 June. Ended by protesters disbanding on their own. | [116] [117] |
27 May 2024 | ![]() | ? | Occupation inside the Whitworth Hall of the University of Manchester, disrupting exams that were due to take place in the building. | [118] [119] |
27 May 2024 | ![]() | 20 | Sit-in at library of the Aberystwyth University. Lasted until 3 June. | [120] |
21 September 2024 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration and march through the city center. Protesters carried a 500-meter-long red banner symbolizing the red line that Israel had crossed. | [121] |
14 November 2024 | ![]() | 100 | Demonstration outside Ulster University's Belfast campus during a visit of Prince William. | [122] |
14 November 2024 | ![]() | 200 | Demonstration outside Queen’s University Belfast during a visit of Hillary Clinton. Ended with police intervention. Four protesters were arrested. | [123] |
30 November 2024 | ![]() | 125,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center, starting from Park Lane carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags with signs condemning Benjamin Netanyahu and calling for his arrest. | [124] |
Date | City/town | Estimated attendance | Description | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
18 January 2025 | ![]() | 100,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. 77 protesters were arrested. | [125] [126] [127] |
24 January 2025 | ![]() | 100-150 | Occupation of the Radcliffe Camera of the Oxford University. Ended with police intervention. 13 protesters were arrested. | [128] [129] |
15 February 2025 | ![]() | 150,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center against Donald Trump's February 2025 proposal for the Gaza strip. | [130] [131] |
15 March 2025 | ![]() | 55,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. | [132] |
5 April 2025 | ![]() | 40 | Blocking of car traffic near King's Cross station. Ended with police intervention. | [133] |
6 April 2025 | ![]() | 50 | Human chain at the corner of Oxford Street and Wonderland Road. | [134] |
12 April 2025 | ![]() | 300 | Demonstration outside weapons manufacturer Teledyne Technologies. | [135] |
17 May 2025 | ![]() | 600,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the Nakba and calling for the government to 'take action' to stop the atrocities against Palestinians. | [136] [137] |
29 May 2025 | ![]() | ? | Vigil at Elizabeth Tower outside of the Palace of Westminster where activists including Steve Coogan, Toby Jones, and Juliet Stevenson read out the names of more than 16,000 children that were killed in Gaza. Lasted more than 18 hours. | [138] [139] |
4 June 2025 | ![]() | 5,000 | March outside of the Parliament of the United Kingdom while wearing red to create a "Red Line for Palestine", demanded that the government impose an arms embargo and sanctions against Israel. | [140] |
20 June 2025 | ![]() | 5 | Defacing of two Voyager aircraft with crowbars and repurposing of a fire extinguisher to spray red paint to the planes and the runway of the Brize Norton Royal Air Force base. Five activists from Palestine Action were later arrested in connection to this direct action. | [141] [142] |
9 August 2025 | ![]() | 500 | Demonstration at the Parliament Square to protest against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and in opposition to the banning of Palestine Action. Ended with police intervention. 446 protesters were arrested. | [143] |
6 September 2025 | ![]() | 1,500 | Demonstrators clashed with police outside of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to protest against the ban of Palestine Action group. 890 people were arrested. | [144] [145] |
2 October 2025 | ![]() | 300 | Demonstration near Downing Street. Ended with police intervention. 40 protesters were arrested. | [146] |
4 October 2025 | ![]() | 1,000 | Demonstration at the Trafalgar Square in support of Palestine Action. Ended with police intervention. 488 protesters were arrested, the oldest being 89 years old. | [147] [148] |
7 October 2025 | ![]() | ? | Demonstration inside the Belfast City Hall. | [149] |
7 October 2025 | ![]() | 500 | Walkout by students of the King’s College London, the London School of Economics, University College London and School of Oriental and African Studies. | [150] |
11 October 2025 | ![]() | 50,000 | Demonstration and march through the city center. 14 protesters were arrested. | [151] [152] |
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