Pro-Palestine protests: Man arrested for carrying a swastika sign and another detained for racist comments at march in London | UK News

Two men were arrested at a pro-Palestinian march in London, according to the Metropolitan Police.

One of the men was taken into custody for carrying a swastika sign and another for allegedly making racist comments against counter-protesters, police said.

The arrests take place a week later a fight broke out over a video which appeared to show a police officer stopping a counter-protester from crossing a road near a pro-Palestinian march in London on April 13.

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstration in the capital on Saturday afternoon to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

There was also a simultaneous static demonstration organized by the pro-Israel group Enough is Enough, which took place along the route of the pro-Palestine march.

Just before 1pm, Scotland Yard said officers arrested a man carrying a sign with a swastika in Parliament Square, where the PSC march began.

It later said another man was being detained for shouting a “racist remark” at Enough is Enough protesters in Pall Mall.

Chants of “Stop bombing Gaza, stop bombing children” were chanted by the crowds and posters saying “Free Palestine, crush the racists” were displayed.

Speaking on stage in Hyde Park, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said: “Change will come, campus by campus, city by city, country by country.

“The tide is changing because this is a global movement for change, a global assertion of popular power, of people power.”

Protesters could be heard chanting the controversial slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those holding banners at the front of the pro-Palestine protest.

The PSC march was the 13th national protest since the first was held on October 9, two days after the Attack led by Hamas over Israel, which cost the lives of more than 1,200 people.

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Police said these protests cost around £38.4 million and required 44,722 officer shifts as well as 6,399 officer rest days to cancel.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the Met aimed to police “without fear or favour”, adding that the London protests “were a particular cause of fear and uncertainty in Jewish communities”.

He said the marches caused some Jews to move away from the center of the capital on protest days, avoid the subway, hide their religion or otherwise change their behavior.

A third demonstration organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) was due to take place on Saturday from 12pm to 2pm, but was cancelled.

The organization said this canceled the “walk together” event – which is expected to attract thousands of people – after receiving threats and identifying “hostile actors” who threatened the safety of Jews.

The latest protest in central London comes as student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continue to spread across the US, following the arrest last week of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University.