Police make arrests over offensive placards at London march for Gaza ceasefire
Thousands of protestors took to London’s streets on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, with two arrests made.
The march began at Bank junction at midday, following a route past St Paul’s Cathedral and Somerset House before finishing at Parliament Square in Westminster in the early evening.
The Met Police said a man had been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence at the beginning of the protest, with another arrest later made “for an offensive placard”.
A statement from the force on X, formerly Twitter, said: “As the march formed up, officers identified a man with a placard making comparisons between Israel and Nazi Germany.
“He has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence.”
Police said further arrests could be made for anyone failing to comply with officer instructions to disperse a large area north of Westminster and between Hyde Park and Holborn, with a dispersal order in place until 1am.
The force added that officers have also been granted special powers to prevent violence and disorder, including directing the removal of face coverings.
It comes after thousands of protesters and counter-protesters have converged on the capital in recent weeks, with this latest demonstration following the UK’s decision to abstain on a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza – a motion that was vetoed by the US.
Others on Saturday’s march held signs with the words “Free Palestine” and “End the siege”, while chants from some protestors included “One, two, three, four, occupation no more, five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state”.
Protesters also chanted the controversial slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – widely interpreted by Jewish groups as anti-Semitic, referring to the borders of Israel.
A post on the website of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said: “Join us in the streets of London for our National March for Palestine on Saturday December 9 to call for a full ceasefire and an end to the war on Gaza.”
Earlier, the Met Police said that protesters must stick to the agreed route, under Section 12 of the Public Order Act.
“Further conditions are in place that mean speeches must end by 4pm and the assembly at the end of the protest must end by 5pm,” the force said.
An exclusion zone is in place prohibiting any protesters from assembling around the Israeli embassy.
As the protestors gathered at Parliament Square,
