Around 100 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London on the third anniversary of the October 7 atrocity, chanting slogans in support of Palestine.
The demonstrators assembled at Lincoln’s Inn Fields shortly before midday and repeatedly shouted the controversial chant: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’
Several marchers defied a police warning issued the previous day by wearing face coverings that concealed their identities.
Tensions escalated between pro-Israeli and Palestinian protesters as officers moved in to make arrests.
Pro-Israeli demonstrators responded by shouting ‘You just love terror’, followed by ‘scum’.
Dozens of police officers were deployed to monitor the rally, which caused disruption on nearby roads.
Mark Rose, watching the demonstration from Southampton Row, said: ‘Half of them don’t even know what river they are referring to.’
Mr Rose, 55, was travelling to work in Hatton Garden. He added: ‘I think they should be swept off the streets and banned for good.
‘They are supporting a terrorist organisation. It is a celebration of mass murder, rape, and torture.
‘I have seen some of the videos from that day, October 7, and it was horrific. I bet none of them have ever watched it.
‘I would screen it on IMAX and make them watch it and lock the doors to see who puked first.’
The protesters were due to march from King’s College London in the Strand to University College London in Russell Square, Holborn.
Some protesters were pictured wearing protective face masks despite a police restriction on face coverings that conceal a person’s identity.
Pro-Palestinian protesters sheltered beneath umbrellas as they joined the march marking the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Under new Metropolitan Police rules, the group was required to assemble in a designated area at Lincoln’s Inn Fields by 12.30pm before following an approved route to Russell Square. The demonstration had to end by 2pm, with protesters ordered to disperse afterwards.
Police warned participants that they could be arrested for breaching the ‘stringent’ conditions imposed on the event.
The restrictions included a ban on wearing face coverings that obscure a person’s identity.
King’s College London said the previous day that it would close the Strand-facing entrances to three buildings ‘for the safety and wellbeing of our students’.
The measures followed calls for police to go further and ban the protest, after officers pledged to take a ‘robust’ approach on what had been described as a ‘day of mourning and a day of reflection’.
Student activists promoted the demonstration on social media, saying they planned to ‘take to the street’ to ‘demand an end to the Palestinian genocide’.
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It will come on the third anniversary of the atrocity in which Hamas militants murdered more than 1,200 civilians and took 251 hostages.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman, who leads Met Operations including public order policing, said: ‘This event is being held on the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel and the start of the ensuing conflict in Gaza.
‘This will be a day of mourning and reflection for many in London and we know the serious concerns that this event has caused Jewish communities in particular.
‘We have imposed stringent conditions on those taking part in this march. These will help us manage the event and minimise serious disruption.
‘Anyone who breaches these conditions or commits offences should be under no illusion they will face arrest. We have zero tolerance for hate crime and those who chant or display placards calling for intifada or encourage unlawful extremism will be arrested.’
Mr Harman previously asked the estimated 300 students planning to march to ‘reflect on the impact and distress it will cause on this very significant day, and exercise your right to protest on a different date’.
The plans were also condemned by Jewish organisations and senior politicians.
Mr Harman said the march, along with another pro-Palestinian protest planned for Saturday, October 10, and possible disorder ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election next week, has the potential ‘to fuel further tensions’ in London.
Police officers look at a document which details the restrictions which are being imposed on the rally
A protester wearing a keffiyeh holds a placard making reference to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023 and the 1948 Arab-Israeli war when about 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from the homes
Protesters carrying umbrellas were flanked by officers as they marched towards Russell Square
The Met said they are ‘making every effort’ through universities and others to identify organisers of the shadowy University of London Coalition, who are responsible for advertising the event.
Mr Harman added today: ‘We hear the calls for this event to be banned. The police cannot ban protests and can only ask the Home Secretary to do so if the risk of serious disorder is so high that it can’t be managed by conditions. That high bar is not met here.
‘Comments on social media that we banned other protests, such as a UKIP march in Tower Hamlets, are incorrect.
‘We have been asked whether the student march is illegal, as under Section 11 of the Public Order Act organisers must provide a name and address to police.
‘While we can identify the groups involved in organising the protest from their social media posts, we have not yet identified any specific individual prepared to accept that they are the organiser of this demonstration.
‘Under the law, the failure of an organiser to identify themselves does not mean that the specific legal criteria for a ban of a procession is met.
‘Once we have identified the organisers, we can consider offences under Section 11.
‘I would like to take this opportunity – again – to call on anyone intending to join this march to please reflect on the impact and distress it will cause on this very significant date, and exercise your right to protest on a different day.’
Education Secretary Lucy Powell previously said: ‘We certainly shouldn’t be doing anything other than marking those attacks on October 7 with deep mourning for those who lost their lives and those who were victims of that terrible Hamas attack.’