LONDON - UK police closed the area around Big Ben in London on March 8 after a man holding a Palestinian flag climbed up the tower housing the famous clock and bell. The man had ascended several metres and was perched barefoot on a ledge of the historic structure, whose official name is Elizabeth Tower, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

A man waving a Palestinian flag climbed the Big Ben tower at London's Palace of Westminster early on Saturday, with local media reporting he shouted "free Palestine". A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they were alerted to the incident at Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) at 0724 GMT.

Newsweek has contacted London's Metropolitan Police for comment via email. London has seen large pro-Palestinian demonstrations in response to the Israeli military operation in Gaza, which followed Hamas ' attack on October 7,