A man carrying a Palestinian flag climbed Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, at London’s Palace of Westminster on Saturday morning, March 8.
The climber, barefoot and dressed in all black, perched on a ledge several meters above ground level, displaying the Palestinian flag and wearing a keffiyeh.
The incident prompted authorities to close Westminster Bridge and cancel Houses of Parliament tours.
A large crowd gathered below to observe the scene, as emergency services used an aerial ladder platform to try to persuade him to safely descend.
The climber streamed live videos from his viewpoint on Instagram, chanting:
He claimed he would descend “on his own terms” after scaling the tower at 7:20 am.
Negotiators noted visible injuries on his foot, commenting on “quite a lot of blood” and warning him about falling temperatures.
However, the man maintains that he is safe, stating, “I have⁶⁶ already said I will come down on my own terms. For now, I am safe.”
During the stand-off with police, he adds, “If you come towards me you are putting me in danger and I will climb higher.”
In another video, a woman in plain clothes says, “At some point, you will have to come down. How long do you think you can stay up there? How long do you believe you can keep going?”
Her voice is then barely audible as she appears to say “your message was to say ‘Free Palestine'” before she encourages him to come down.
The incident comes amid large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations in London, following Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas killed around 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage. In response, Israeli airstrikes and ground invasions have led to over 48,000 Palestinian casualties, according to Gaza’s health authority, run by Hamas.
