How Israel’s genocide in Gaza pulled Britons into the Palestine movement

What the report says

Britons who had little prior involvement in politics are increasingly becoming active in the Palestine movement, according to Al Jazeera’s report from London. The article centers on people such as Claire, a 52-year-old from near Edinburgh, and Marji, a 70-year-old in Colchester, who say events in Gaza and criticism of pro-Palestinian protests pushed them into public activism despite personal and legal risks.

Al Jazeera reports that Claire moved from reading and private life into marches, fundraising and civil disobedience after the Gaza war intensified in 2023 and after she heard then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman describe some protests as “hate marches.” She is now facing possible prison time after police arrested her over suspected support for Palestine Action, a group banned in 2025. Marji, who says she had never protested before 2023, was also arrested in Westminster in July under terrorism-related provisions and is waiting to learn whether charges will follow.

The piece says this pattern extends across professions, with activists in arts, rail, finance and administration joining groups such as Defend Our Juries, Workers for Free Palestine and other solidarity campaigns. The movement has focused on opposition to UK arms sales to Israel and on calls to end diplomatic and trade ties.

Al Jazeera places these developments against the wider backdrop of the Gaza war, which began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. The report says the conflict has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza, helping drive public anger and a growing sense among some Britons that their government is complicit.