Scores arrested at Palestine protest – but campaigners cry foul over ‘heavy-handed’ policing
A total of 77 people were arrested during Saturday’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) protest that police say involved a coordinated effort to breach public order conditions.
The PSC is strongly disputing the police interpretation of events in central London.
Discussions between the officers and the PSC had been ongoing for many weeks in the run-up to the protest and conditions were first imposed last week preventing protesters from forming in the vicinity of a synagogue located a short distance from Portland Place.
Further conditions were then imposed earlier this week requiring protesters to gather in Russell Square and follow a specific route to Whitehall.
The Met said that it was agreed with the PSC a day before that they would not hold a march, but remain in Whitehall for a static protest.
Commander Adam Slonecki, who led the policing operation, said: “This is the highest number of arrests we have seen [at Palestinian solidarity protests], in response to the most significant escalation in criminality.
“We could not have been clearer about the conditions in place. Protesters were to remain in Whitehall with no march towards the BBC.
“It was so deeply disappointing to see a deliberate effort, involving organisers of the demonstration, to breach the conditions and attempt to march out of Whitehall.
“I am quite confident this was a coordinated breach with the intention being to reach the BBC at Portland Place in defiance of the conditions.
“We know who was involved in leading the movement of so many people through police lines. Investigations are now underway and we will make every effort to bring prosecutions against those we identify.”
The demonstration in Whitehall began largely without incident. There were a number of arrests for public order offences, one for displaying a placard that suggested support for Hamas and Hezbollah and another for pairing a swastika with the Israeli flag.
The Met said no officers were seriously injured during the protest, however three were spat at as they intervened earlier in the day to deal with an incident.
The PSC said: “The Metropolitan Police has promoted a misleading narrative about the events in Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, claiming that a peaceful delegation pushed through police lines in an attempt to justify their repressive actions on Saturday.
“On Saturday, we organised a rally in Whitehall to call for a permanent end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Despite our long-standing record of peaceful demonstrations, the police banned our planned march to the BBC. In response, we announced plans for a rally and a peaceful protest against this anti-democratic ban.
“Ahead of the rally, we publicly called on the police to rescind the restrictions they had imposed and allow our march to go ahead. We had also made clear that if they refused to do so we would hold a rally and protest against the ban as part of that rally.
“On the day, we were confronted with extremely heavy-handed and aggressive policing. With less than 24 hours’ notice, the police had imposed a series of complex restrictions. A number of people were arrested without warning, on flimsy pretexts.
“This is a direct assault on freedom of assembly and democracy. The police’s actions, including their false statements after the event, are deeply troubling.”
Pictured top: Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Khalid Abdalla (front row third from right) join people taking part in a national march for Palestine on Whitehall on Saturday (Picture: Alamy, Jeff Moore)