A Jewish woman who complained to police about swastika signs at a pro-Palestine march in London said she was told the symbol “needed to be taken into context”.
Footage showed an activist challenging officers at Saturday’s march after she was told that a swastika was “not necessarily antisemitic or a disruption of public order” when she reported seeing the banners.
When confronted with the sign, the officer said: “So I think the symbol in of itself…” which prompted the woman to beg others to film the heated interaction.
When those gathering around the pair tell the officer “it is antisemitic”, the officer responds: “I didn’t say it wasn’t”.
One woman said: “If someone is carrying a sign with a swastika, you said you wouldn’t arrest them on the spot, it would have to be investigated online?”
A second Met Police officer then interrupts to say: “A swastika on its own, I don’t think is…”
The officers then claim that “everything needs to be taken in context” despite reports of the Nazi symbol being paraded at a pro-Palestine march in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.
Four people were arrested, including one man on suspicion of a terrorism-related offence, at yesterday’s protest. More than 200,000 people took part in the demonstration on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, according to estimates by organisers.
LATEST ON THE ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT
People taking part in Stop the Genocide in Gaza national demonstration in Trafalgar Square
PA
A spokesperson from the Met Police said: “We’re aware of an online clip from today’s protest in central London showing an interaction between an officer and a woman during which there is an exchange over concern around protestors displaying offensive banners, including swastikas.
“The online clip is a short excerpt of what was a 10-minute conversation with the officer. During the full conversation, the officer establishes that the person the woman was concerned about had already been arrested for a public order offence in relation to a placard.
“The officer then offered to arrange for other officers to attend and accompany the woman to identify any other persons she was concerned about amongst the protestors, but after turning to speak to his supervisor, she then unfortunately left.
“We take hate crime and public order offences very seriously and a number of people were arrested during today’s protest for hate crimes, public order and terrorist offences. We are also gathering and assessing evidence with a view to making further arrests where we identify any other offences.”
Humanitarian aid falls through the sky towards the Gaza Strip
Reuters
Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 77 Palestinians in Gaza in the past 24 hours, as Egypt hosted an Israeli delegation for a new round of talks in a bid to secure a truce with Hamas.
The Israeli military said it killed a senior Islamic Jihad militant in a strike on a command centre in the courtyard of the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza.
A spokesperson from the Israeli military said: “The command centre and terrorists were struck precisely, intended on minimising harm to uninvolved civilians in the area of the hospital. The Al-Aqsa Hospital building was not damaged and its functioning was not affected.”
Palestinian health officials and Hamas media said the strike hit several tents inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital, killing four people and wounding several, including five journalists.
Source Agencies
