LONDON — A protester was arrested Saturday in London on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, as tens of thousands of people turned out on central London’s streets for a pro-Palestinian march calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The National March for Palestine, which aimed to finish in Whitehall, central London, was the latest in several huge protests staged in the British capital every weekend since the Israel-Hamas war began last month after the terror group’s October 7 atrocities.
Saturday’s protests came on the second day of a precarious four-day lull in fighting that has allowed humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
The Metropolitan Police said it arrested a man on suspicion of inciting racial hatred “near the start of the protest.”
“Officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it,” police said.
Officers handed out leaflets at the march that sought to clarify what would be deemed an offense, after the force faced pressure from senior government officials to be tougher on displays of antisemitism at the protests.
Protester hold flags and placards as they take part in a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstration in Trafalgar Square in London, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (AP/Alberto Pezzali)
“Anyone who is racist or incites hatred against any group should expect to be arrested. As should anyone who supports Hamas or any other banned organization,” said Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan.
“We will not tolerate anyone who celebrates or promotes acts of terrorism – such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people – or who spreads hate speech,” he added.
The force said 1,500 officers were deployed to police the march.
Earlier this month, the UK’s former interior minister, Suella Braverman, came under heavy criticism when she described pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marchers.” Critics accused her of inflaming tensions, and she was sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak soon after.
New UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, a former prime minister, made a trip to Israel this past week and visited Kibbutz Be’eri, among the southern Israeli communities hit hard by Hamas’s shock October 7 onslaught in which thousands of terrorists invaded Israel and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians in their homes and at an outdoor music festival.
They also took some 240 hostages, 24 of whom were freed Friday in two separate deals. Some 50 Israeli hostages — children, their mothers and other women — are set to be freed overall over the four days, during which the IDF is halting its military campaign to destroy Hamas in Gaza, with three Palestinian security prisoners to be freed in exchange for each hostage.
Hamas freed 13 Israeli hostages Friday, and another 11 foreign nationals from Thailand and the Philippines in a separate deal, Hamas’s backers.
According to the Israel-Hamas deal, the truce can potentially be extended for one extra day for each additional group of 10 more hostages freed by Hamas.
On Saturday, Hamas delayed the release of the slated second group of Israeli hostages as the fragile truce deal hung in the balance.
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, November 25, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
In Paris on Saturday, a march staged for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women drew both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists, as well as other groups.
Some protesters, waving Palestinian flags and posters reading “Free Palestine,” walked in a show of solidarity with “Gaza and Palestine’s women who are being murdered.”
A group of Jewish women also joined the march to denounce crimes committed by Hamas, including rapes and killings, chanting, “We are women, we are proud, we are Jewish and we are angry.”
Meanwhile, some pro-Palestinian protests were organized over the weekend in France’s major cities including Strasbourg, Lyon and Marseille.
Hizb-ut-Tahrir, an Islamist group, also protested Saturday outside the Egyptian Embassy in London.
Tens of thousands of people are also expected to take part in a march organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism organization on Sunday to show solidarity with the Jewish community in the UK.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRpbWVzb2Zpc3JhZWwuY29tL3RlbnMtb2YtdGhvdXNhbmRzLW1hcmNoLWluLXByby1wYWxlc3Rpbmlhbi1sb25kb24tcmFsbHktY2FsbGluZy1mb3ItZ2F6YS1jZWFzZWZpcmUv0gEA?oc=5
2023-11-25 19:17:44Z
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