The Metropolitan Police made at least 17 arrests during the protests, including two individuals suspected of supporting banned organizations…reports Asian Lite News
Science Secretary Peter Kyle has warned that displaying support for Hezbollah constituted a “criminal act.” Kyle said any show of support for the group, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, should be punished after signs with pro-Hezbollah slogans were seen during a pro-Palestine demonstration in central London over the weekend.
The Metropolitan Police made at least 17 arrests during the protests, including two individuals suspected of supporting banned organizations, Sky News reported.
The force said it was “aware” of social media posts showing people “holding placards with messages of support for Hezbollah,” adding that the footage had been passed to specialized officers.
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Kyle appeared on the Sky News program “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips” and stated law enforcement agencies had “the full support” of the home secretary, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the government “in doing what they need to do to make sure that criminal acts like that are tackled.”
The protests come amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with Israel conducting targeted raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran launching missiles into Israel.
The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks has led to more than 2,600 protests in the UK over the past year, resulting in 550 arrests.
Political and faith leaders, including Starmer, have called for calm and rejected any incitement of hate, urging communities to unite ahead of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack that has seen around 42,000 people killed, according to Gaza health authorities.
The prime minister, writing in The Sunday Times, said the “flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region,” adding “the sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home.”
He continued: “During difficult times, our differences and diversity should bind us together more strongly, not drive us apart. But there are always some who would use conflict abroad to stoke conflict here. Since Oct. 7, we have watched vile hatred against Jews and Muslims rise in our communities. Any attack on a minority is an attack on our proud values of tolerance and respect. We will not stand for it.”
On Saturday, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered to march in central London to mark the passing of a year since the 7 October attacks in Israel. Groups of activists convened in two areas in central London on Saturday morning amid a heavy police presence – one in Russell Square, one in nearby Bedford Square.
Organisers of the former said they planned to march to Whitehall, where attenders would listen to speeches – including from the former Scottish first minister Humza Yousaf. According to organisers of the latter, they planned to “target” companies and institutions they say are “complicit in Israel’s crimes”, including Barclays and the British Museum.
The Metropolitan police said the second march came across counter-protests at the junction of Kingsway and Aldwych and at the junction of the Strand and Trafalgar Square. The demonstrators blocked Tottenham Court Road by gathering outside a Barclays branch just after midday, with a sign held near the entrance reading: “Shame on those who looked away from the sadistic genocide of mainly children in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Later they blocked Gower Street near the British Museum and police appeared to form a line to prevent the group meeting up with the other pro-Palestine march that began in Russell Square. They then gathered outside the British Library, chanting: “Yemen, Yemen make us proud. Turn another ship around,” and: “British Museum. Paint it red. Over 100,000 dead.”
In Bedford Square, some were holding Lebanese and Iranian flags and banners stating: “We do not stand with genocide” and “Zionism is racism”, with many chanting: “Free, free Palestine.” In Edinburgh, thousands of people joined a similar demonstration, which included a silent march to commemorate all civilians killed. The event was organised by Scottish Friends of Palestine and the Gaza Genocide Emergency Committee.
The Met said officers had made 17 arrests so far as part of a “significant” policing operation across the capital in response to planned protest and memorial events. Two people were arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation, one of which included a protester wearing what appeared to be a parachute, and there were eight arrests on suspicion of public order offences, four of which were allegedly racially aggravated. Parachutes and paragliders were used by militants from Hamas to launch their aerial assault to enter Israel from Gaza last October.
Three people were arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, three were arrested on suspicion of assault and one person was arrested on suspicion of breaching a Public Order Act condition. The force said the arrests were made when people tried to get past officers who had formed a cordon to stop any groups breaking away from the main protest.
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