Police gear up for new pro-Palestinian protests in London with 1,000 officers on duty as thousands of demonstrators take to the streets including Islamic extremist group that wants Muslim countries to invade Israel
- Last Saturday tens of thousands of people protested in streets across the UK
Police officers across London are gearing up for another day of pro-Palestinian protests on Saturday as an ‘extremist’ Islamic group prepare to take to the streets alongside thousands of peaceful demonstrators.
Around 1,000 Met Police officers are on duty to monitor events in the capital after a similar event last week saw tens of thousands turn out in solidarity with Palestinians trapped in the Gaza strip.
Alongside a similar march this week, controversial Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir – which means ‘Party of Liberation’ and first emerged in Britain in the 1980s – will hold their own march and protest outside the Egyptian and Turkish embassies.
Advertising for the planned march shows members of the group are demanding that ‘the armies of Muslim countries move to free Palestine’, adding it ‘it the only way to rescue the Muslims under attack’.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is banned in more than 40 countries and both Tony Blair and David Cameron considered banning the group during their premierships, but were reportedly advised by police chiefs that it could become more radical if forced underground.
The Met Police says it is deploying around 1,000 officers on Saturday amidst expected pro-Palestinian protests
Dozens of police officers amassed outside the Israeli embassy on Saturday morning
The Israeli embassy, pictured on Saturday, is the centre of a large police protection operation
Images from London on Saturday show a large police presence around the Israeli embassy, including more than 20 police vans and dozens of officers in riot gear patrolling the streets.
Large metal and concrete barriers were placed in front of the entrance to the embassy, with officers seen stacking riot shields inside the gates.
It follows a largely peaceful series of marches in cities across the UK last weekend, although isolated incidents including young women with images of paragliders attached to their backs and a woman in Glasgow yelling ‘remember where the Jews were in 1940’ sparked outrage in the days that followed.
Thousands of demonstrators are expected to turn out in London again today in solidarity with Palestinians amid ongoing rocket strikes by Israel.
At least 3,800 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since terror group Hamas, which controls the region, launched a horrific attack against Israel earlier this month, killing more than 1,400 people and taking a further 200 hostage.
The vast majority of those killed in the attack, which was launched via the ground and air through the use of paragliders, were civilians.
Hamas have been accused of massacring entire villages and murdered 250 people at a music festival during their attack on October 7.
At least nine Britons were killed with a further seven missing in the assault which saw entire families, including babies and the elderly, shot dead and mutilated.
Groups of police officers were seen standing outside the Israeli embassy on Saturday
At least 20 police vans were seen in the vicinity of the embassy by midday on Saturday
Dozens of police officers amassed outside the Israeli embassy in London
In retaliation, Israel launched a barrage of attacks on Gaza targeting Hamas militants, and initially besieged the strip to prevent food, water and medical aid from entering the region.
READ MORE: Anti-Semitic offences have soared in London by more than 1,353 per cent compared with last year, Met Police say
On Saturday morning the first international aid trucks were allowed to cross into Gaza using the Egyptian border crossing.
Amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, the Met Police have deployed around 1,000 officers to patrol the capital this afternoon.
The force announced that since the start of the conflict, it has seen a 1,353 percent increase in anti-Semitic offences and a 140 percent increased in islamophobic offences.
In a statement released on Friday, the Met said it is expecting ‘another significant demonstration in central London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.’
The march began at Marble Arch at midday, and will travel along Park Lane, via Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square before ending up in Whitehall.
A smaller demonstration is expected at the same time by Hizb ut-Tahrir members beginning at the Egyptian embassy at 1pm and ending at the Turkish embassy at 3pm.
Hizb ut-Tahrir released a statement on its site this week which called for armed invasion of Israel by Muslim nations.
The Met announced that since the start of the conflict, it has seen a 1,353 percent increase in anti-Semitic offences and a 140 percent increased in islamophobic offences
Officers patrolled central London streets holding riot helmets on Saturday
In a statement released on Friday, the Met said it is expecting ‘another significant demonstration in central London organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’
Police officers set up road blocks in Kensington in anticipation of protests
It read: ‘The Muslim Community in Britain urges the Muslim armed forces to take immediate action to free Palestine from occupation.
‘These armies exist to uphold the dignity of Muslims, a duty that goes beyond any nation-state boundary.
‘Palestine holds great significance as the land of the Prophets. It is incumbent upon the Muslim armies to steadfastly defend it against all forms of aggression and occupation.
‘The Muslim community in Britain expresses deep concern and strongly condemns decisions and agreements made by Muslim rulers that protect the Zionist entity.
‘The Muslim community firmly believes that Palestine is a blessed Islamic land. Any action that contributes to the continued occupation or silence on the matter is a crime against Islam, a betrayal of the Ummah, and a violation of the Islamic duty to safeguard the blessed land.’
Spokespeople for Hizb ut-Tahrir insist they do not support Hamas, but want better conditions for civilians in Gaza.
The Met has introduced Section 12 protest restrictions which mean anyone deviating from the prescribed routes could be subject to arrest.
It is also enforcing a Section 14 notice, which forbids protesters from entering the certain streets next to the Israeli embassy.
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