12 arrested at Al-Quds Day rally, counterprotest in London, say police

Hundreds of people turn out in London for a pro-Palestinian march banned by the government after police said it was organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime.” Police later say that 12 people were arrested at the rally and nearby counterprotest.

Police kept people in the annual Al-Quds Day event and counterprotesters apart by allowing them to gather on opposite sides of the River Thames not far from parliament.

Pro-Palestinian protesters who were directed to the south side of the river waved flags and held up placards with slogans such as, “Stop Israeli war crimes.”

“I just feel so strongly that what has happened to the Palestinians is so unjust,” pensioner Jean Apps, 81, from Purley in south London, tells AFP. “And now I am here also because of the illegal attacks on Iran. I know Iran is not perfect, but the Iranian people should be left to sort out their own problems.”

On the other side of the river counter-demonstrators wave US and Israeli flags along with the the Lion and Sun Iranian flag favored by exiles. They also hold up placards with the words “Make Iran great again” and “Standing with my Jewish friends.”

“We are supporting the king of Iran, we are asking America and Israel to help us eliminate the IRGC,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, says Shiva, 37, an Iranian chef living in London. “They don’t care about the people, they are just killing us. It’s a cruel regime.”

Police say that officers made “12 arrests including for showing support for a proscribed organization, affray and for threatening or abusive behavior. We are also investigating chants made by a speaker at the Al Quds protest.”