Seven people were arrested during a pro-Palestine protest in Central London on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, following clashes with counter-protesters and police intervention. The demonstration, which began at Lincoln's Inn Fields and moved through Holborn and Russell Square, saw five arrests for inciting racial hatred after protesters chanted slogans for "intifada", and two further arrests for common assault and breaching conditions at a student pro-Palestine protest.
Protest route and police conditions
The 90-minute demonstration began at Lincoln's Inn Fields on Wednesday afternoon under strict conditions imposed by the Metropolitan Police. No face coverings were allowed, the march was required to follow a set route, and warnings were issued every time the huddle of umbrellas came to a halt. The procession moved down Kingsway towards Russell Square, bringing traffic to a standstill and forcing black cab drivers and other motorists to wait for the group to pass.
There was a hard deadline of 2pm for the event to wrap up. Police repeatedly warned protesters when the group stopped moving, much to the dismay of black cab drivers trying to go about their day. The protest was held in aid of the October 7 anniversary, marking the surprise, large-scale cross-border assault launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its allies against southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Clashes at Russell Square
Once protesters reached Russell Square, they were met with chants of "scum" from pro-Israeli protesters, which ultimately led to police lines being formed and minor clashes between the groups. A police line was formed between the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters, and a pro-Israeli protester was reportedly told to move on. An arrest was reportedly made for a breach of the Met's conditions.
The protest was surrounded by a swarm of photographers, broadcasters and police officers, with protesters chanting "Free, Free Palestine" in a damp Holborn park. While the Palestinian protests were not huge in numbers, almost outnumbered by journalists, they voiced their message in the face of opposition despite calls for the protests to be reorganised. Officials and Jewish groups branded the showout as "shameful" to have on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
Official and activist responses
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism had organised a billboard truck featuring the faces of Israeli children and babies taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attacks, which followed the protest throughout the streets. Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, branded the planned demonstrations as shameful, while other government ministers pushed for today to be a day of mourning for those who died in the October 7 attacks.
A pro-Palestinian student protester told MyLondon: "We need to show the UK government that we are not afraid, and we need to show them that they are mass murdering babies, elderly people and the world is turning a blind eye to it all and are willingly arming Israel. We need to put an end to this." Student protesters were often surrounded by a crowd of umbrellas, blocking the media and auditors who had attended the protest to live-stream or film content for their social media channels.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "Marching on the anniversary of the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust is an outrageous provocation. Conduct during the march, including a protestor chanting 'The State of Israel has got to go', exposes the event as nothing more than an exercise in Jew-baiting. This was compounded by a limp police response, the extent of which was to ask the organisers to reconsider marching. As antisemitism continues to skyrocket across every facet of British society, including on campus, the police must use their powers to restrict hate marches."
The protest concluded with seven arrests made, with five for inciting racial hatred and two for other offences, including common assault and breaching conditions at the student pro-Palestine protest. The Metropolitan Police's strict conditions and the hard deadline of 2pm were enforced throughout the event, which saw traffic disrupted on Kingsway and confrontations at Russell Square.
