Hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters target Zara in Oxford Street on busiest Christmas shopping weekend
HUNDREDS of rowdy pro-Palestine protesters halted traffic around Oxford Street on one of the busiest Christmas shopping days.
Marchers walked slowly down the street, as well as Regent Street and Carnaby Street, holding placards declaring "no shopping while bombs are dropping" and forcing some shops to close their doors.
One branch for fashion brand Zara brought their security shutters down, as did Omega, Furla and Puma. Cars, cabs and buses also formed long queues in the road as traffic built up.
Protesters urged Christmas shoppers to boycott what they described as "pro-Israel" companies.
Other boycott targets included McDonald's, Domino's, Sodastream and Papa Johns.
Some chants included: "Zara, Zara, you can't hide. Stop supporting genocide."
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One man shopping with his girlfriend said: "It's pretty inconvenient. I know it's for a cause but it's a pain, especially so close to Christmas."
A British Retail Consortium spokesman said: "Any disruption to customers trying to do their shopping is regrettable.
"Retailers ensure all products in-store and online are clearly labelled with country of origin so customers can make their own informed choice about what they would like to buy."
The Met Police said in a statement: "Officers were with the group throughout and the level of disruption was monitored closely.
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"Some shops did decide to close their doors for a short time whilst the protest passed, but then re-opened and have carried on with their day’s trading."