Protesters gather in London for pro-Palestinian march; UK government adviser: Those chanting ‘jihad’ should be arrested

Protesters have gathered in central London for a “National March for Palestine” amid Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group.

Previous protests have seen anti-Israel chants and a number of arrests, however many in the British Jewish community believe that policing has not gone far enough.

The UK government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption tells The Times that demonstrators shouting “jihad” should be arrested.

“Clearly, shouting ‘jihad’ in the street in the wake of the pogrom on October 7 is not using the interpretation of the word meaning inner struggle,” Lord Walney tells the newspaper.

“Anyone of reasonable mind would know this and I am strongly of the view that people who are chanting ‘jihad’ should be arrested,” he says.

Police have said that around 1,700 officers will be on duty.

“Where officers see people engaging in activity that suggests support or membership of a proscribed organization, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, action will be taken,” London’s Metropolitan Police says in a statement.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who is leading the policing operation, says that “those who intentionally push the limits of what may cross the line into criminality will face the consequences.”

Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, killing some 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, amid horrifying acts of brutality and sexual violence.

Around 240 others taken were hostage, of which 136 remain in captivity in Gaza.

Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.