Tens of thousands attend pro-Palestine march as police make 18 arrests

Ahead of Saturday's pro-Palestinian march, police handed out leaflets to provide “absolute clarity” on what is deemed an offence

Tens of thousands of people took part in a pro-Palestinian march through the capital on Saturday calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags and placards set off down Park Lane from Marble Arch in West London heading towards Piccadilly.

The Metropolitan Police arrested a man on suspicion of inciting racial hatred near the start of the protest. The force added officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it.

It said officers stopped a man wearing a green headband with white Arabic script but had since removed it.

Multiple headbands were found on him and he has been arrested on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation. The force said it was the second arrest for this offence in an hour.

At around 5.20pm, the Met said a breakaway group was marching up Whitehall setting off flares.

The force said members of the group were detained to be searched under Section 60 of the Public Order Act, while additional orders were imposed preventing any further marching that it "knows will cause disruption".

Later on Saturday evening, the Met said that as of 7pm, its officers had made 18 arrests for a range of offences, including for racially aggravated public order offences and wearing signs and symbols that could indicate support for a proscribed organisation.

The latest major demonstration in the capital comes as Egyptian officials confirmed that Hamas will later free another 14 hostages in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The temporary truce is still holding and follows weeks of fighting and Israeli bombardments of Gaza, with the conflict sparked by the Hamas incursion into southern Israel that saw 1,200 people killed.

On Saturday Hamas said it was delaying the release of its second group of hostages in a dispute with Israel over humanitarian aid trucks.

Protesters in London are marching from Park Lane to Whitehall, with the Metropolitan Police also handing out leaflets to provide “absolute clarity” on what will be deemed an offence.

A series of handmade placards and banners were held up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching in London.

Many included drawings of maps accompanied by the words “From the river to the sea”.

One displayed a picture of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer under the word “Genocide”, while another had a picture of leaders of the G7 above the phrase “War criminals on the run”.

A pro-Palestinian protester has played down the long-term significance of the temporary ceasefire, claiming “Israel reneges on its promises”.

Shaun, 33, from north London, said: "I don’t know what’s going to come from it, I don’t know if it’s positive, but I know full well that once this truce and temporary ceasefire are done they (Israel) are going to continue bombing and we’re going to be right back where we were, so I’m not holding my breath.

“We’ve seen this before – Israel reneges on its promises in the past, they renege on their promises now.”

Hundreds also gathered outside the Egyptian Embassy in Mayfair for a demonstration by Hizb-ut-Tahrir, in the first protest by the group since October 21 after a video emerged showing a man chanting “jihad”. The Met said no offences were identified from the clip, but it prompted an outcry from politicians.

At the start of the rally on Saturday, the crowd was warned by an organiser: “Don’t come up with your own chants, follow what is on the stage, follow the chants from those who are chanting.”

Two women were arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence after they were seen to be holding placards with messaging on likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who led the policing operation, said: “I would like to acknowledge the overwhelming majority who came into London today and exercised their right to protest lawfully. “Regrettably, there was still a small minority who believed the law did not apply to them. Thanks to the efforts of our CCTV teams and other officers, a number of those are already in custody. “Investigations into other offences are already under way and will continue in the coming days. “I would also like to thank the Met officers, as well as all those from other forces who travelled long distances to help us keep London safe, for their efforts. We said we would intervene decisively where offences took place and that is what they did.”

A 90-minute march organised by the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism is also due to take place on Sunday, with around 40,000-50,000 people expected to attend.

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