Pro-Palestine protesters opposite the Israeli ambassador’s residence in north London – Stefan Rousseau/PA
The Metropolitan Police has told organisers of the pro-Palestinian marches to do more to clamp down on anti-Semitic banners and chants.
The Palestinian Solidarity campaign has been urged to get its stewards to intervene if they see racist behaviour, following weeks of accusations that the rallies, including some which have attracted tens of thousands in support of Palestinian civilians, have been blighted by blatantly anti-Semitic slogans.
The police were heavily criticised in the early weeks of Israel’s war in Gaza for allegedly failing to enforce anti-hate powers during the marches.
Community leaders have said the rallies contribute to a surge in fears over safety among British Jews since the Oct 7 Hamas massacre.
Local Palestine supporters outside Southall Town Hall – Jeff Gilbert
In recent weeks officers have distributed leaflets at the demonstrations which give examples of unlawful chants and slogans, as well as trying to preempt offending by also doing the same online.
However, they have now asked the organisers themselves to communicate to protesters what is not acceptable.
Matt Twist, the assistant commissioner, said: “The Met has asked organisers to communicate clearly with attendees and set out expectations.
“It is clear that on social media they have done so to some extent.
“While organisers have made some efforts, however, we would like them to do more, to clearly call out unacceptable and potentially illegal behaviours at the events.”
He said that while the “overwhelming majority” of demonstrators behaved lawfully and peacefully, “on every occasion so far we have found offences of hate crime, supporting a proscribed organisation and people looking to intimidate”.
While officers had successfully traced suspects following marches, doing so was difficult and time-consuming, he said.
Last night, footage emerged of what are said to be medics marching from St Thomas Hospital in central London to Downing Street.
One man was seen holding up a sign which said: “The British gov and political leaders are slaves of the Zionist Jews.”
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A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We have shown in recent months that where photos or video of potential criminality emerge after a protest has concluded, we will still investigate fully and make arrests where appropriate.”
It came as dozens of localised pro-Palestinian protests took place on Saturday, including outside the home of the Israeli Ambassador, days after she publicly rejected a two-state solution.
A group waving flags and chanting slogans congregated outside the north London residence of Tzipi Hotovely on Saturday, one of dozens of locally-organised protests across the country.
Police had imposed an order preventing demonstrations outside Israel’s embassy in Kensington.
Anti-war activists make their point outside the Israeli ambassador’s home – Stefan Rousseau/PA
However, the Met said this did not extend to the ambassador’s home and that “no issues” with the demonstration had been reported.
Footage on social media showed placards reading “Stop killing kids. Free Gaza”, “stop the genocide” and one from the International Jewish anti-Zionist network.
Ms Hotovely appeared to publicly clash with Rishi Sunak last week after she told Sky News that Israel did not support the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
“The answer is absolutely no,” she said.
“Israel knows today, and the world should know now, that the Palestinians never wanted to have a state next to Israel.”
On Saturday, hundreds gathered outside her house and chanted “decolonise” and “ceasefire now”, with passing cars honking their horns in support.
One man with a megaphone standing outside the gated mansion in St John’s Wood said: “Many of you have seen the ambassador of Israel and concluded she is not a very nice person.
“So she may not be a very nice person but what we object to is that she is calling for a genocide.”
It was met with chants of “shame on you”.
The protesters were observed by police.
Barclays targetted
Last week officers used their powers under the Criminal Justice and Police Act to move protesters from Just Stop Oil away from outside Sir Keir Starmer’s home, where they had been singing Christmas carols.
In north London, about 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Camden to call for a ceasefire, with some shouting “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free”.
The controversial slogan is argued by Jewish groups and many politicians to amount to a call for the eradication of the state of Israel.
Tower Hamlets saw one of the largest London protests, with around 300 people gathering outside the council’s Town Hall in Whitechapel.
The group then marched from the Town Hall to Museum Gardens in Bethnal Green.
Throughout the march some chants of “from the river, to the sea” could be heard, as well as chants labelling Israel a “terrorist state”. Signs including the messages “Free Gaza” and “Stop the Massacre” could also be seen.
The protests on Saturday also saw Barclays targeted by pro-Palestine groups, with protests outside four branches. These included Abergavenny, Coventry and Chichester.
Forty people gathered outside the Barclays bank in Walthamstow and chanted slogans, including for Gaza to be free.
The protesters were handing out flyers in which they accused the bank of providing “billions of pounds of investments and loans to arms companies selling weapons to Israel”.
In Southall, west London, a rally temporarily blocked off a main road, while demonstrators also staged a protest at an outlet of the clothes shop Zara in Glasgow, which supporters said caused the branch to shut.
Zara apologised earlier in the week after an advertising campaign was criticised for resembling the destruction in Gaza.
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https://ca.news.yahoo.com/pro-palestinian-protests-outside-london-173641932.html
