· The National march in London stopped with more people arrested than ever before.
· Freedom of peaceful protests were subdued in what could potentially be the last Palestinian protest this year.
After more than a year of genocide, with numerous national marches in London throughout the period following the October 7 offensive, 77 Palestinian protesters were arrested in London in the highest arrest rate in any Palestinian march since October 7.
The arrest follows a strict police order preventing protesters from marching towards the BBC headquarters and constraining them to Whitehall, thus preventing the march from being carried out.
Commander Adam Slonecki, who led the policing operation, said: “This is the highest number of arrests we have seen, in response to the most significant escalation in criminality.
“We could not have been clearer about the conditions in place. Protesters were to remain in Whitehall with no march towards the BBC.”
In response, the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, a key organiser of the protest, said:
It must be noted that out of all the national marches that took place since the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza, this is the first that has been restricted from approaching the BBC, outlining the Metropolitan Police’s increasingly restrictive actions taken against peaceful Palestinian protesters.
Even with all the arrests, thousands had still made it to Whitehall to peacefully protest and show solidarity with the Palestinian plight in what could be the last before the pending ceasefire becomes active.
Palestinian protests have been hugely symbolic and will be remembered in history
Some of the biggest protests in British history have taken place in London for Palestine since the genocide began.
While costing the met more than £40 million and being broadcast across both the mainstream and social media, protests have shown the Palestinian plight lives on and does not fatigue even after a year of genocide.
The genocide enablers and backers have their legacy marred with inaction even after hundreds of thousands have marched in the capital calling for action. This will be something that the history books will note with the self-confidence of leaders becoming a feigned fallacy that they will have to accept once the genocide comes to an end and justice prevails.
The legacy of the rulers who ignored the protesters and restrained their rights will be something an entire generation who will one day become leaders will detest them for.
