London Police: We cannot prevent a pro-Palestine demonstration on October 7

London - Ofoq News - The London police announced that they cannot prevent the organization of a pro-Palestine demonstration scheduled in the British capital on October 7, calling on its organizers to change its date, given that this day is considered a day of mourning for a large number of the city’s residents.

London Metropolitan Police Chief, James Harman, said in a statement published by the police that the police tried to reach the organizers of the march to request a change in its date, adding that reaching them “has so far proven to be a difficult task.”

“I am taking this opportunity today to urge them to reconsider and contact us urgently, so they can plan the event for another date,” Harman added.

He explained that if the demonstration was held on time, the police "would have no choice but to impose order and monitor the event."

The demonstration, scheduled for October 7, is organized by a student body called the “London Universities Coalition.”

Regarding universities, the Metropolitan Police Chief said that the police, despite their keenness to preserve “academic freedom,” stress the responsibility of universities to ensure the ability of Jewish students and faculty to study, work and participate fully in university life “without intimidation, harassment or discrimination,” pointing to recent data that he said show that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in British universities has increased significantly compared to the levels recorded before October 2023.

According to the police, their inability to prevent the demonstration is due to the fact that British law does not require obtaining police approval to organize demonstrations or marches, nor does it give the police the power to refuse to organize them, while they can impose conditions and restrictions on their organizers under the “Public Order Law.”

Harman said that the police may ask the Minister of the Interior to issue an order to prevent the march if fears arise of a serious disturbance to public order, but he clarified that the police do not have the authority to prevent a fixed demonstration.

The police are expected to announce the conditions for organizing the pro-Palestine march, warning that “anyone who violates these conditions or encourages others to violate them may be subject to arrest,” stressing that it will follow a “zero-tolerance policy for hate crimes and any other violations.”

The police reported that more than 17,000 arrests had been carried out in London since October 2023 on the grounds of hate crimes, without clarifying how many of these cases were against an anti-Semitic background.