Met Police issue CCTV of protesters at London pro-Palestinian march
by Emily Jane Davies · Mail OnlineThe Met Police have issued CCTV images of protesters who were at yesterday's London pro-Palestinian march, saying they are wanted for questioning over 'potential offences'.
The march, organised by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and others, saw thousands of people take to the streets of London to rally against Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
It marks nearly a year after it launched a counter-offensive following Hamas ' deadly incursion on October 7.
The Met arrested 17 people at the protest, which convened in Bedford Square for the planned march from Russell Square to Whitehall ahead of events marking a year since Hamas gunmen went across the Israeli border and killed 1,200 people.
But the force has now released CCTV stills of eleven people at the protest who they want to identify and speak to.
According to the police, 'a number of further potential offences have come to light on social media'.
The force is asking for the public's help to identify the people as due to the 'size and density' of the crowds, ' it is not always easy for officers to see from their positions along the route'.
Anyone who can identify those pictured is asked to call 101, message @MetCC on X or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
They should give the reference 3919/06OCT and the specific reference on the image.
Some of the images are of people who held signs that read 'Hezbollah are not terrorists' at a pro-Palestine march in London on Saturday.
One woman, who has not yet been identified, was seen holding a sign that read: 'Hezbollah are not terrorists.'
'All Shia are Hezbollah. All Shia around the world are Hezbollah', she was heard saying, referring to the second-largest branch of Islam.
When asked about Hezbollah's designation as a terrorist organisation, she said: 'I think Israel is a terrorist organisation.'
The Met today told MailOnline: 'Efforts are still ongoing to identify this woman and the other women who were with her.'
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Inflammatory signs were seen at the march, with messages that read 'I love Hezbollah'.
One attendee was seen wearing a t-shirt comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
Other protestors waved placards saying 'Zionism causes Polio' and 'they will study this like we studied the Holocaust.'
Droves of other protesters waved their flags and banners, with one marcher taking a swipe at the Prime Minister with a sign that read: 'Starmer is a silly sausage' - referencing an awkward mishap during his speech about Gaza hostages.
The police were forced to intervene on several occasions to prevent clashes breaking out between pro-Palestinan marchers and a small group of counter-protesters.
Pro-Palestinian supporters were seen chanting 'ceasefire now', 'Palestine will be free' and 'hands off Lebanon', before chanting 'shame' to those counter-protesters waving Israeli flags.
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The most recent arrest saw police take a man, who appeared to be a wearing a parachute, into custody.
He has been arrested on suspicion of wearing or displaying an article indicating support for a proscribed organisation.
One pro-Palestinian protester was heard calling a black counter-protester a 'coconut', a controversial term which can sometimes be used as a racial slur.
It comes after three women were found guilty in February of a terror offence for displaying images of paragliders at a pro-Palestine march a week after Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in Israel.
Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, attached stock images of paragliders to their backs with tape, while Noimutu Olayinka Taiwo, 27, stuck one to the handle of a placard.
The trio displayed the images on October 14, 2023, just seven days after militants from Hamas used paragliders to enter Israel from Gaza on October 7 before randomly murdering civilians.