Police are on standby as today’s UK-wide pro-Palestine protests got underway, with one commander saying warning participants anyone calling for “jihad” against Israel will be arrested.
Thousands are taking to the streets today as Israel steps up its offensive on Gaza.
Police expect about 100,000 people to join the demonstration in London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, with other rallies organised elsewhere in the UK – including in Manchester and Glasgow.
Kyle Gordon, who is leading the force’s command team, told a press briefing yesterday: “If somebody is calling for jihad specifically against Israel the officers will intervene, gather the information, report it back into us and we’ll be working with colleagues (from counter-terrorism) in relation to what the best course of action is.”
He added: “We’ve been clear over the last week that wherever possible we will police up to the line of the law.
“Our most experienced and knowledgeable officers are working on the policing of these events, making sure we are utilising all legislation to its fullest extent.
“I would encourage anyone who sees any crimes happening in the moment to report it to the nearest police officer.
“Any footage or images of potential crimes should be reported to us – we have specialist teams whose role is to scour thousands of pieces of content identifying crime.”
A video emerged of a pro-Palestinian protester chanting “jihad” at one event last week, but officers had said no offences were identified in the footage from the demonstration.
It comes after Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley differed with ministers this week over how to police pro-Palestine protesters using the phrase.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signalled that police are unlikely to be given more powers to address chants deemed to be extremist after the comments at last Saturday’s rally.
That is despite suggestions from Sir Mark that laws may need to be redrawn following concerns about gaps in current anti-extremism legislation.
Scotland Yard has pointed out that jihad has “a number of meanings”.
Max Hill, the outgoing director of public prosecutions, has said that calling for jihad is not automatically a criminal offence.
The head of the Crown Prosecution Service told The Daily Telegraph: “In any case arising from the current protests, there needs to be a very careful consideration of the actual circumstances in which something is said, or a flag is waved or actions are taken.”
As the Palestinian death toll mounts, with the Hamas-controlled Gazan health ministry saying more than 7,000 people have died, calls for a ceasefire are growing among UK politicians.
Downing Street has insisted that such a move would “only benefit Hamas” and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has joined the Government in supporting “humanitarian pauses”.
