A senior Church of England dean has withdrawn from a Gaza rally because he did not want to share a platform with anti-Israel activists who “justify violence [and] incite hatred.”

The Dean of Peterborough Cathedral, the Very Reverend Chris Dalliston, had agreed to attend the “Peterborough March for a Free Palestine” in the city in the east of England on Sunday.

In a statement posted on the cathedral's Facebook page, Dean Dalliston announced his withdrawal from the event, and said: “I would not want to appear to endorse the view that Israel has no right to exist, let alone share a platform with those who might think it possible to justify any kind of violence or incite hatred.”

A flyer for the event advertised the Dean as a speaker, along with a representative from anti-Zionist fringe group, Neturei Karta and other anti-Israel speakers

The dean said he believes in a “diplomatic solution” to the conflict in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

“I further believe that there should be an immediate end to hostilities, the release of hostages, and that work should commence towards a diplomatic solution that enables all people, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and Muslims to live in peace, dignity, safety.

“Along with many others I believe that only a two-state solution can ultimately guarantee a future in which all can hope to flourish,” he wrote.

“It is for that reason, that I would not want to appear to endorse the view that Israel has no right to exist, let alone share a platform with those who might think it possible to justify any kind of violence or incite hatred.”

The dean said he was "sorry" to withdraw from the rally, which took place in Cathedral Square on Sunday.

Protesters in NHS scrubs led the crowd in an Arabic chant, "Palestine is Arab! Zionists out!" Children attending the rally wore hospital gowns stained with blood and carried bundles of cloth representing dead babies and masked men walked through the city waving Palestinian flags.

Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al-Aqsa – the groups behind the “hate marches” in London – as well as Peterborough’s Health Workers for Palestine and the People’s Assembly, around 2,500 people attended the demonstration on the weekend, according to the Peterborough Telegraph.

The JC has approached the Peterborough Palestine Solidarity Campaign for comment.