Pro-Palestinian activists arrested after protest at British war memorial

British police arrested two pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Monday following a protest at the Cenotaph war memorial in central London.

A Palestinian flag was laid down in front of the cenotaph and the message “180,000 dead” was sprayed on the ground in front of the memorial, as photos and video footage show.

Every year the Cenotaph is the centre of national events commemorating British soldiers who died in the war.

“Two women were quickly arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and are in custody,” the Metropolitan Police said on X, adding that damage was caused to the road and not to the monument itself.

In a statement, the Youth Demand group said its supporters had taken action to “commemorate the thousands of people killed in Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza.”

It said Youth Demand was calling for a mutual arms embargo against Israel and for the new British government to stop all new oil and gas licenses issued from 2021.

Supporters had planned to disrupt the opening of parliament by head of state King Charles III on Wednesday, it said.

Youth Demand held a protest rally outside former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s constituency headquarters last month.

The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7. According to a count by the AFP news agency based on Israeli figures, 1,195 people were killed, most of them civilians.

The militants also captured 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza. According to the Israeli military, 42 of them are dead.

Israel responded with a military offensive in which at least 38,584 people were killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry.