Palestine solidarity movement challenges police restrictions on protest march 

Organisers of the national pro-Palestine protests in London have set out their concerns about increasingly “heavy-handed” policing and attempts by the Metropolitan Police to restrict supporters marching this Saturday in the capital. The solidarity movement has made its concerns public in advance of a press conference in Westminster on Thursday afternoon.

The organisers call on the UK government to show its support for the democratic right to protest and to intervene to make the Metropolitan Police “see sense”. The force has placed restriction orders on the protest, delaying the start time by one and three-quarter hours to 2.30pm. A meeting on Monday between the Met and representatives of the six organisations behind the pro-Palestine protests — which have seen hundreds of thousands of people on the streets on 17 previous marches since 7 October demanding an immediate ceasefire — failed to resolve the issue. The police continued to put obstacles in the way and refused to confirm when the two sides could meet again.

“We will set out our concerns that the actions of the Met over the past week are part of a pattern of increasingly heavy-handed policing tactics that place unjustified and impractical restrictions on our democratic right of peaceful protest,” said a spokesperson for the march organisers.

“In the week that the government had to admit that it must suspend at least some arms licences to Israel, albeit just a fraction, it is imperative that the police do not hinder an entirely peaceful march in support of the people of Palestine and calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and a ban on all Israeli arms sales.”

The spokesperson pointed out that the changes have not been explained by the police, even though they will cause serious inconvenience and disruption to an anticipated 100,000 people, many of whom will travel from across the UK to take part in the protest.

“It is not practicable to make changes to an agreed route at such a late stage without creating major logistical difficulties,” said the spokesperson. “The route has been advertised across all social media and in emails to members and supporters of all of our organisations. Coaches have been booked to arrive for the noon assembly time, and many tens of thousands of people have pre-booked other transport to arrive at that time and then return home after a rally which they would expect to be finished no later than 4.30pm.”

The organising coalition comprises the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Palestine Forum in Britain, Stop The War, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of Al Aqsa and the Muslim Association of Britain.

The clear message to the Met, added the spokesperson, is “We will march.”

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