Pro-Palestine protesters march in US, UK

WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (AFP/AP): Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched in Washington, London and elsewhere on Saturday as part of a "global day of action" to demand an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza fighting and to oppose US and British support for Israel.
In Washington, large crowds waved Palestinian flags as the mostly young protesters-many wearing the traditional keffiyeh-gathered in a show of solidarity on the 99th day of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
"Cease-fire now," people chanted, while carrying banners and posters that read "Free Palestine" and "End the War on Gaza."
On a stage a few blocks from the White House, several Palestinian-Americans-originally from Gaza, but now living in US states from Michigan to Texas-offered emotional accounts of friends and relatives killed or wounded in Gaza.
They exhorted US President Joe Biden to end military and financial support for Israel.
"President Biden can easily stop this madness" by pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, one speaker said to wide applause.
London, meantime, saw its seventh pro-Palestinian demonstration since October 7, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
No one can halt Israel's war
to crush Hamas: Netanyahu
Israel will pursue its war against Hamas until victory and will not be stopped by anyone, including the world court, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a defiant speech Saturday, as the fighting in Gaza approached the 100-day mark.
Netanyahu spoke after the International Court of Justice at The Hague held two days of hearings on South Africa's allegations that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, a charge Israel has rejected as libelous and hypocritical. South Africa asked the court to order Israel to halt its blistering air and ground offensive in an interim step.
"No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anyone else," Netanyahu said in televised remarks Saturday evening, referring to Iran and its allied militias.
The case before the world court is expected to go on for years, but a ruling on interim steps could come within weeks. Court rulings are binding but difficult to enforce. Netanyahu made clear that Israel would ignore orders to halt the fighting, potentially deepening its isolation.