LONDON, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The area around London's iconic Big Ben remains closed to traffic on Saturday after a protester scaled a building within the Houses of Parliament while carrying a Palestinian flag.

Video footage on social media showed a large crowd gathered in Parliament Square as the man climbed the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben, on Saturday morning.

Emergency services attempted to communicate with him using an aerial ladder platform, but the man refused to come down. A small team of negotiators was deployed to persuade him, but as of press time, he remained atop the tower, according to The Guardian.

At least nine fire and ambulance vehicles were dispatched to central London, and parliamentary tours were canceled as a result of the incident, a spokesperson said.

Pro-Palestine demonstrators had initially planned to rally outside the BBC headquarters in central London, but police prevented the gathering, citing concerns over potential "serious disruption" to nearby Jewish communities.

In response, protest organizers moved the demonstration to Downing Street, while many supporters also gathered in Parliament Square. Enditem

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