LONDON

A "small number" of arrests were made Saturday at a pro-Palestine demonstration in London after counter-protesters breached conditions set for the march, leading to a "scuffle between several individuals," according to Metropolitan Police.

"Officers were quickly on the scene to separate those involved, making a small number of arrests," it said.

Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the city. Police put measures in place to prevent clashes between the marchers and counter-protesters.

Police forces have been granted new powers to impose conditions on repeat protests, the government announced last week.

The Home Office said senior officers will be able to consider the “cumulative impact” of previous demonstrations when deciding whether to place restrictions on new ones.

It could include instructing organizers to hold events in different locations if a site has seen repeated protests.

Under the proposed changes, where there have been repeated protests, officers could impose conditions such as moving the event or limiting its duration.

'Trump's plan is not for an enduring peace'

Palestine Solidarity Campaign's Director Ben Jamal expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

"We are here as a ceasefire has finally been declared in Gaza, and today we share the relief of the Palestinian people, and we are inspired once more by the signs of them returning to their homes or what is left of their homes, and we know that right now, many Palestinians are preparing to dig through the rubble, maybe with their bare hands, to find the bodies of their relatives, to give them a decent burial," he said in a statement on the US social media company, X.

He had concerns about the durability of the ceasefire and issues in the region.

"We share their trepidation that this ceasefire will not hold, rooted in the knowledge that Israel has violated every ceasefire agreement it has ever signed. But people have been asking us for the last two days, why are you still marching?" he said

"And the reason why we are still marching is that we know that the plan that has been laid out by (US President) Donald Trump is not a plan for an enduring peace, because it says nothing about the root causes of violence," he added.

"It says nothing about ending Israel's military occupation. It says nothing about dismantling the system of apartheid that exists all over historic Palestine, and nothing about how the Palestinian people would enjoy and realize their right to self-determination and their right to return. So, that's why we're marching again to say our campaigning, our protesting, does not end until the Palestinian people are finally free."

Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a 20-point plan he laid out Sept. 29 to bring a ceasefire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives being held there in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

The first phase of the deal came into force at 12 noon Friday (0900 GMT).

A second phase calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.