How Gaza sparked the biggest British protest movement in recent history and became a headache for police | Israel-Gaza War

When the Palestine Solidarity Campaign organized its first protests against Israel's bombing campaign in the Gaza Strip, days after Hamas' deadly terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, its leaders expected the conflict to end within weeks.

“I remember telling my staff that we would have to respond to this by potentially marching until Christmas,” recalls coach Ben Jamal. I didn't see much more than that.

His calculations were based on previous conflicts in Gaza. In the 2021 crisis, Israeli bombing and Hamas' rocket attacks lasted for 11 days, the 2014 war lasted 7 weeks, and in 2012, bloodshed continued for 8 days before a ceasefire.

However, a year later, the war shows no signs of stopping and is instead spreading to Lebanon, threatening to further expand following Iran's ballistic missile attack on Israel.

In response, protests in the UK are expected to expand. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) march in London on October 5 included slogans like Hands Off Lebanon and No to War in the Middle East. Tens of thousands of people attended.

The Metropolitan Police said turnout appeared to be higher than recent protests calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which have become smaller and less frequent since they peaked in November last year.

A pro-Palestinian march in central London on 5 October, organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other groups. Photo: Ben Bauer/PA

But with thousands of people still attending PSC marches roughly every three weeks, campaign groups and Scotland Yard agree that this is the largest protest movement in recent British history, surpassing the historic 2010 student protests and the 2003 Iraq anti-war protests .

Met Deputy Commissioner Matt Twist said the past year had been the busiest ever for protests, with major demonstrations moving at a much faster pace than before.

yes [pro-Palestinian] Along with the marches, we are now seeing counter-protests and the growth of what some call cultural nationalists, or what some define as right-wingers, who are also making additional resource demands, he adds.

We were concerned about the escalation and deepening of the conflict and its impact on this country, particularly London, across a range of issues. Our planning assumption is that these protests will continue.

The Met organized its response to all protests related to the Israel-Gaza war, codenamed Operation Brocks. The effort has so far cost $46.8 million and involved 60,000 shifts of local officers and 9,600 shifts of personnel from forces outside London.

Although most of the resources were devoted to the 20 national marches called by the PSC, numerous smaller demonstrations were held across London, organized by various groups and figures supporting opposing sides in the conflict.

The cost was enormous, Twist said. The financial cost is one thing, the opportunity cost of London is another. Because that means the officer is basically removed from the local police force and doesn't do anything else.

Police have counted more than 2,600 protests across the country linked to the Israel-Gaza war, and the National Police Chiefs' Council has described the response as one of the longest and most resource-intensive policing operations in recent history.

Palestinian supporters attending a protest in Manchester on October 5. Photo: Gary Calton/The Observer

In London, 404 people were arrested at protests by the end of June, but only 14% had been charged, 45% were under investigation and more than a third had no further action taken.

The highest number of arrests in a single day occurred on 11 November 2023, when disorder broke out between far-right protesters calling for the protection of war memorials against regular PSC protests on Armistice Day.

Overall, the majority of crimes recorded by police under Operation Brock were breaches of peace and public order, but there were also a number of alleged assaults on police officers and seven people were arrested on suspicion of soliciting support for terrorist groups.

In February, two women were found guilty of terrorism after wearing images of Hamas militants entering Israel on a paraglider on October 7 during PSC protests a week later.

By the end of June, more than 50 people had been arrested on suspicion of hate crimes during the protests, including religiously aggravated public order offenses and inciting racial hatred.

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A pro-Palestinian supporter in Manchester. Photo: Gary Calton/The Observer

Suella Braverman, then home secretary, claimed right-wing protesters had faced a harsh response after Rishi Sunak wrote an article labeling the PSC protest a hate march and accusing the Met of applying double standards. He was sacked by Sunak. Palestinian rioters were largely ignored.

Twist rejected claims of two-tier policing as nonsense, adding: This has become a useful soundbite for those who seek to criticize and undermine the discussion without adding anything constructive to it. We police without fear or favor, according to the law. Because things don't work out the way people want.

He said the legal criteria to ban marches, which are considered seriously disorderly, had never been met and the Metropolitan was not pushing for new laws or increased powers. [PSC protests] It is also true to say that the march, if done in a peaceful and good manner, put the Jewish community in fear.

We have had unusually high rates of crimes related to terrorism laws in terms of supporting proscribed organizations and arrests at almost every march linked to racial or religious hatred, Twist says.

Jamal accuses critics of focusing disproportionately on the placards and unacceptable slogans of a small number of people in crowds of thousands. The number of arrests at these protests is very low, he added.

Of course, with individuals we look for any patterns or problems. But what we get is some things that aren't told to the majority.

The PSC rejected criticism of controversial slogans such as From River to Sea and denied that the marches were making Jewish communities less safe. At each march, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Jews marched in organized Jewish blocs. We do not agree with what the State of Israel is doing, says Jamal. They were always warmly welcomed.

But Community Security Trust, a Jewish safety charity that has been monitoring a rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, believes the number of arrests for hate crimes and terrorist offenses suggests a troubling pattern of behaviour.

Dave Rich, the charity's head of policy, said the protests had led to the cancellation of events at synagogues in central London and left Jews fearful of visiting the capital. [Jewish] People want to participate in these marches, he adds, but most Jews don't like the sight of 10,000 people coming out of their synagogues and marching, calling Israel's genocide baby killers.

Now the charity is concerned that as the conflict continues, protests could morph into smaller, more forceful and more direct actions that would be harder for police to control and potentially more violent.

The CST has advocated for greater restrictions on the timing and route of PSC protests, but Jamal said police had been imposing painful conditions under public order laws.

Meanwhile, Twist believes it is right for police to minimize disruption and balance competing rights.

One side might say you're doing too much, while the other side might say you're not doing enough, he adds. Balance is difficult and competition is fierce. Photos of protests have become more frantic, and the world seems more polarized.

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