Police arrest hundreds at pro-Palestine protest, days after UK synagogue attack

2 days ago 6

London: Protesters have defied political leaders and police by rallying to support banned activist group Palestine Action on the streets of London and Manchester, days after a terror attack on a synagogue heightened warnings about hatred against Jews.

Police arrested 355 protesters in London on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) for declaring their support for Palestine Action, a proscribed terrorist group, after the rally went ahead despite calls for people to stay home and respect the grief of the Jewish community.

Police officers detain a demonstrator in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

Protesters also gathered in the centre of Manchester to rally against the war in Gaza, as the organisers declared they were not being antisemitic when criticising Israel and opposing the ban on Palestine Action.

The arrests came two days after a British man of Syrian descent attacked security staff and worshippers at a Manchester synagogue, leaving two dead and four in hospital. The assailant, Jihad al-Shamie, was shot dead by police.

Police raised concerns the attacker was influenced by “extreme Islamist ideology” and revealed he had been charged with rape and released on bail.

With tensions running high over the terror attack and the war in Gaza, news reports also revealed that al-Shamie’s father, surgeon Faraj al-Shamie, had issued a series of social media posts praising Hamas and welcoming its attack on Israel in October 2023, when 1200 people were killed.

One day before the protests, the Metropolitan Police urged the demonstrators to stay home because officers were needed for community safety including additional security for Jewish schools and synagogues.

Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley criticised the protest organisers, Defend Our Juries, for gathering 1000 people in Trafalgar Square days after the terrorist attack.

“By deliberately choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing valuable resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most,” he said.

“People have been debating for the last two years whether pro-Palestinian protests are simply a call for peace, or have an implicit intention to stir up antisemitism.

Police remove a protester after a banner was unfurled on Westminster Bridge, London, as part of the protest.

“Continuing such protests within hours of Thursday’s awful terrorist murder of British Jews, when communities are most fearful, will likely create further tensions and some might say lacks sensitivity.”

Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also called for a halt to the protests, saying “this is a moment of mourning” and not a time to stoke tension. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch visited the site of the Manchester on Saturday and warned against rising antisemitism in Britain.

“Jewish people right now are telling me that they are leaving to go to Israel,” she said.

The UK parliament voted to proscribe Palestine Action by 358 to 26 votes on July 2 after its members broke into a Royal Air Force base, sprayed red paint into the jet engines of two large aircraft and caused further damage with crowbars.

Defend Our Juries opposes the ban and said police resources should not be wasted on its enforcement at the protests.

“The danger of the proscription not only to our rights to free speech and protest, but to the safety of the public at large, was completely foreseeable and forewarned,” the group said.

Many protesters held up saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Because the group is proscribed, public support for the group is an offence. Police said they arrested 355 people in and around Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

Adrian Daulby, 53, (left) and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died during the Manchester synagogue attack.

The synagogue attack resulted in the deaths of two men: Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66. Police said al-Shamie rammed his car into the synagogue grounds, killing Cravitz, a security guard. They believe Daulby was helping to barricade the doors of the synagogue and died from a bullet fired by police officers at the attacker as he tried to enter the building.

The terrorist wore a bomb-like device around his waist and police later confirmed it was a fake.

“At this stage, we believe Al-Shamie may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology,” the Greater Manchester Police said on Friday, local time.

Three men and three women, ranging in age from 18 to 61, have been arrested in the wider Manchester area on suspicion of aiding the terror attack – and four of them face extended questioning.

“We have been granted warrants of further detention for four individuals currently in custody. This means they can remain in custody for up to a further five days,” the police said at 2.43pm on Saturday, local time (11.43pm, AEST).

“Everyone in custody has been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.”

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