Flares and bottles were thrown at police at a pro-Palestine march in London amid heightening tensions in Israel and Gaza. Cops arrested seven people as up to 50,000 demonstrators were warned to avoid the Israel Embassy at Kensington High Street on Saturday.
According to TheSun, Metropolitan Police deployed more than 1,000 officers to patrol the area during the march. Around 50,000 people in London alone are estimated to have marched in solidarity with Palestine and demanding Israel stops its bombing of Gaza.
Cop revealed this evening that 15 people were arrested They were suspected of breaching Section 60AA, public order offences, criminal damage, assaults on emergency workers, and setting off fireworks in a public place.
Police say “there have been small pockets of disorder” with “flares, bottles and fireworks” being thrown at officers. It comes in response to Hamas’ sickening terror attacks that claimed the lives of 1,300 people. The latest Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 3,500 people on both sides.
The Palestinian terrorist organization launched an unprecedented surprise attack on October 7. Protesters met at Portland Place at 12pm, before marching through London and finishing in Whitehall at 3 pm.
Scotland Yard warned that anyone who deviated from the designated route or caught supporting Hamas, could face arrest. The Met warned on X, formerly Twitter, that a Section 12 has been authorized from midday on Saturday in the relevant area.
A Met Police statement said: “Any person participating in or associated with the ‘Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ protest must not deviate from the route below or they may be subject to arrest.”
Protestors waved Palestinian flags and placards saying “Free Palestine” as they gathered in the capital, surrounded by hundreds of cops. One woman, wearing a red coat, was seen holding a sign saying “ethnic cleansing is not self-defence”. While another with a scarf around their face held a canister aloft as colored smoke billowed out behind.
Fireworks were set off by members of the pro-Palestinian crowd amid the London protest. Police on horseback watched on as a police helicopter circled over the demonstration.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said a “very significant policing operation” was in place with more than a thousand officers dedicated to patrolling vulnerable locations.
