'We're giving a message that you do not stand alone' says leader of pro-Palestine march

WATCH: Michael Voss is in London to meet leaders of the pro-Palestine march

A leader of Sunday's pro-Palestine march in London says they want to tell people in Palestine that they "do not stand alone."

The war between Israel and Hamas has now entered its 100th day amid growing disquiet internationally over the suffering in Gaza. Saturday saw pro-Palestinian demonstrations in dozens of countries around the world in what was the first Global day of Action.

One of the largest marches took place in London, the seventh such event since the war began organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

Its director, Ben Jamal, sees the war in Gaza and the fate of all Palestinians as one of the fundamental issues of our time.

He spoke to CGTN in the build up to Saturday's protest, where tens of thousands of people marched through central London calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the war in Gaza.

"We're giving a message to the people of Palestine that you do not stand alone, that there are people of good conscience across the world who see your suffering. We are also keeping up pressure on all political leaders," Jamal said.

A British Palestinian, born in London, Jamal is the director of the Solidarity Campaign, said to be the largest Palestinian rights group in Europe. Throughout the morning Jamal was constantly on the phone checking on progress and trying to sort out last minute glitches.

Jamal's father was a Palestinian Christian vicar from West Jerusalem who married an English woman he met in Nazareth, before moving to the UK. Seven years ago Jamal quit his job as a social worker specializing in domestic violence to help run the organization.

"I've always worked in the field, which is in some way connected to issues of social justice. But this is the most fundamental cause that matters to me. It's the world's longest lasting, enduring injustice. So the opportunity to actually come and work for the organization was one I wanted to take on," said Jamal.

As well as organizing these marches, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign lobbies MPs and they are also involved in calling for the boycott of Israeli goods, especially those made in the occupied West Bank.

Last year in November, senior government ministers were calling these protest marches anti-Semitic hate marches and called for them to be banned.

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Jamal called such accusations "outrageous," comparing the actions of Israel's government to all Jewish people and the people who join the protests.

"There's a widespread campaign to try and silence Palestinian voices. People who stand up for Palestine are standing up for fundamental principles of freedom, justice and rights," he said.

There were a small number of police arrests, including people carrying pro-Hamas signs. The placards and chants: "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," is also controversial. Historically some in Israel see this chant as a call to wipe Israel off the map. Something Jamal says is not the case.

"No, the chant from the river to the sea is one that we chant proudly. It's simply a way of expressing the nature of the oppression the Palestinians suffer all across historic Palestine, whether they live as unequal citizens of the state of Israel or on the military occupation," he said.

This was the seventh National March for Palestine, and Jamal is clear it won't be the last as long as the war in Gaza continues.

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