Pro-Palestine protesters disrupt Christmas shoppers on London’s busiest shopping street in call to boycott ‘pro-Israel’ brands today. Hundreds marched on Oxford Street and Regent Street, busy shopping districts in the capital’s West End, bringing traffic to a standstill on Saturday afternoon.
The demonstration was organised by direct action group Sisters Uncut, began in Soho Square, where protesters chanted “free Palestine”. The rally started with a few hundreds of people reaching several thousands at peak in the afternoon.
The protesters chanted “while you’re shopping, bombs are dropping”, referring to the Israel’s response to the October 7th attacks by Hamas.
They stopped outside two Zara stores, both of which had closed and were guarded by security, urging people to boycott the brand. Some chanted: “Zara, Zara, you can’t hide, stop supporting genocide”.
Earlier this month, Zara pulled an ad following complaints that it contained pictures resembling images from the Israel-Hamas war. The campaign, called The Jacket, contained a series of images in which the model was pictured against a background of cracked stones, damaged statues and broken plasterboard.
The company said it regretted a “misunderstanding” about the pictures, after some customers “saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created”.
Several protesters waved Palestinian flags, played music and let off coloured smoke.
Leaflets distributed by the group said: “No Christmas as usual in a genocide. The UK is complicit.
“Don’t fund genocide in Palestine. Boycott Israel.”
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
