PALESTINIAN supporters will be marching through York city centre today on one of the busiest Saturdays of the year.

The centre is expected to be crowded with shoppers attending St Nicholas’ Fair, tourists enjoying the city’s Christmas displays and events, and snooker fans attending the final stages of UK Snooker Championship at York Barbican.

Parking marshals will be monitoring traffic at various locations and directing motorists to vacant spaces in car parks.

North Yorkshire Police say they have put an operation in place to ensure the safety of everyone.

The first Saturday of this year's St Nicholas Fair saw huge crowds in the city centre and major traffic jams on all the approach roads. Some motorists reported not being able to find a parking place.

The York Palestinian Solidarity Campaign announced yesterday on its Facebook page: “Israel has renewed its bombardment and attacks on Gaza, and Al Jazeera is reporting that already dozens of Palestinians have been killed. We fear there will be so many more.”

It is the latest of a series of marches since October 7.

North Yorkshire Police today put out a statement saying: “North Yorkshire Police is aware of a planned protest march that will take place through pedestrianised areas of York on the afternoon of Saturday 2 December.

A policing operation has been put in place to ensure the safety of members of the public including residents, visitors, local businesses and protestors.

Everyone has the right to peaceful and lawful protest and the police service’s role is to ensure it passes peacefully and lawfully while balancing it with the rights of others, seeking to minimise disruption and keep the public safe.”