Police have begun making arrests at a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London that organisers refused to cancel despite urgent pleas from the Prime Minister and police chiefs following Thursday’s deadly synagogue terror attack in Manchester.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers started detaining protesters in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon after demonstrators openly displayed placards supporting Palestine Action, a proscribed terrorist organisation. The force stated that anyone holding signs backing the banned group would be arrested.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had urged people planning to attend pro-Palestine protests this weekend to respect the grief of British Jews, warning that demonstrations could cause further pain to mourners. Writing in The Jewish Chronicle, Sir Keir said he urged anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognise and respect the grief of British Jews this week, adding that this is a moment of mourning and not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain.
The London demonstration, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries, went ahead in defiance of calls from senior politicians and police to reconsider the timing. The Metropolitan Police said in a statement on social media that officers had begun making arrests in Trafalgar Square where people were displaying placards in support of Palestine Action, noting that the square was busy but quite a few people in the crowd appeared to be observing or supporting but not carrying placards themselves.
Protests Proceed Despite Government Appeals
The Metropolitan Police urged the group to call off its plans, with the force saying that at a time when they wanted to deploy every available officer to ensure the safety of communities, they were instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square in support of a terrorist organisation.
However, Defend Our Juries refused to cancel the demonstration. The group responded to the Met’s statement on social media, saying they were peacefully protesting against UK complicity in genocide and urging authorities to deal with actual terrorism.
A separate march held by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine also took place in Manchester city centre on Saturday. After a crowd of around 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral to listen to speeches, they moved off en masse to march through the city centre, banging drums and chanting “Free Palestine.
A group of counter-protesters got ahead of them, marching in front and holding a flag saying “F*** Hamas” and shouting “release the hostages”.
Terror Attack Context
The protests took place just two days after two people were killed and three others seriously injured in a terrorist attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Thursday, October 2. The attack occurred on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The two victims killed were identified by police as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66. Greater Manchester Police revealed on Friday that one of the deceased victims appeared to have suffered a gunshot wound, and since the suspect was not in possession of any firearms, the injury may have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by officers to bring the vicious attack to an end.
UK counter-terrorism police named the perpetrator as Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a British citizen of Syrian descent. The suspect allegedly drove a vehicle into a crowd outside the synagogue and then began attacking people with a blade before being fatally shot by police.
Political and Community Reaction
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy was heckled by members of the public who shouted “shame on you” when he spoke at a vigil near the attack site on Friday. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson urged would-be demonstrators to do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting.
Dave Rich, director of policy at the Community Security Trust, which provides security to the Jewish community, described the protests on Saturday as phenomenally tone deaf. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Rich said it was phenomenally tone deaf for so many people who claim to care about human rights and freedoms to be taking police resources away from protecting the rights and freedoms of Jewish people to live their lives and go to synagogue in safety, all to support a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Palestine Action Proscription
Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organisation. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalised two tanker planes to protest against Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Police in London have arrested more than 1,600 people who have been protesting against the United Kingdom’s recent decision to ban the group Palestine Action since the ban came into effect on July 5. Being a member of Palestine Action or supporting the group became a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
In previous protests in August and September, hundreds of people were arrested, with police noting that the average age of those arrested was 54, including 97 people aged in their 70s and 15 octogenarians.
The campaign group argued that the government’s ban illegally restricts freedom of expression. Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organisation.
Ongoing Investigation
UK counter-terrorism police announced on Friday that they had arrested six people in total on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism in connection with the Manchester attack.
Police forces have deployed extra officers to synagogues and other Jewish buildings across the country to offer protection and reassurance in the aftermath of the attack.
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