The Met is deploying a heavy police presence to Whitehall before thousands take part in a pro-Palestine protest outside Parliament this afternoon.
The ‘Stop the Genocide’ rally will begin at around 4pm, with officers restricting those taking part to Parliament Square.
Activists are also being urged to arrange to meet their MPs as they prepare to debate calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Labour has publicly shifted its stance to back a call for an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’, giving MPs who were unhappy with the leadership’s previous handling of the issue a wording to rally behind.
But the Government has put down its own amendment to the nationalists’ proposal, raising the possibility that the Commons Speaker will not choose Labour’s amendment for a debate.
Twelve people were arrested at a pro-Palestine protest in central London on Saturday
The ‘Stop the Genocide’ rally will begin at around 4pm, with officers restricting those taking part to Parliament Square
Twelve people were arrested at a pro-Palestine protest in central London on Saturday for offences including inciting racial hatred, supporting a proscribed organisation and assaulting emergency workers.
Protesters met at the south of Park Lane, holding banners calling for a ‘ceasefire now’ and chanting ‘free, free Palestine’, before congregating outside the Israeli embassy where speeches were made.
Among the speakers was former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, who both called for ‘justice’ for the Palestinian people.
Two people have now been charged following the demonstration.
Lucia Whittaker De Abrew, 34, from Derby has been charged with failing to remove a face covering when required, while 48-year-old Martin Prady, from Martock in Somerset, is accused of obstructing a constable in the execution of their duty.
De Abrew will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on March 5 and Prady is due to attend Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on March 4.
Five of the arrested have been bailed, while the others face no further action, the Metropolitan Police said.
Tens of thousands are thought to have been at Saturday’s demonstration, with Scotland Yard saying the ‘overwhelming majority’ were peaceful and acted lawfully.
Police first arrested a woman on suspicion of support for a proscribed organisation, after she was allegedly spotted with a signpost which read ‘Long Live The Intifada’.
Later, while arresting a man for carrying an anti-Semitic banner, a punchup broke out in which officers were assaulted – leading to six more arrests.
Two further arrests were made against demonstrators who refused to remove their face coverings.
Other marchers, some of them children, carried placards declaring ‘I thought Hitler was dead’ and ‘Turns out killing kids is okay, I’m scared for my life’.
Prince William called for an end to the fighting in Gaza in an unprecedented royal intervention on Tuesday
In an extraordinary – and symbolically significant – statement the future king said the ‘terrible human cost’ of the conflict had seen ‘too many killed’
Besides the familiar chant of ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ another rallying cry was ‘Occupation no more, Israel is a terror state’.
Prince William called for an end to the fighting in Gaza in an unprecedented royal intervention on Tuesday.
His carefully-chosen words are the strongest yet by a senior royal in response to Israel’s devastating military action in Gaza following the sickening terror attacks of October 7.
They came ahead of a visit by the Prince of Wales to the British Red Cross in London to discuss the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza and beyond.
His statement was issued with the knowledge of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and welcomed by Downing Street, which said his ‘measured’ call for an end to the fighting was in line with the Government’s position.
William said: ‘I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October. Too many have been killed.
‘I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.
‘Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home.’
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