London Police: We Cannot Prevent Pro-Palestine Demonstration on October 7

London - Afaq News - The London police announced that they cannot prevent a pro-Palestine demonstration scheduled in the British capital on October 7, calling on its organizers to change the date, as this day is considered a day of mourning for many residents of the city.

The head of the Metropolitan Police, James Harman, stated in a statement published by the police that they have tried to reach the organizers of the march to request a change of date, adding that reaching them "has proven to be a difficult task so far."

Harman added: "I take this opportunity today to urge them to reconsider and contact us urgently, so they can plan the event for another date."

He explained that if the demonstration is held on its scheduled date, the police "will have no choice but to enforce order and monitor the event."

The demonstration scheduled for October 7 is organized by a student group called the "London Universities Coalition."

Regarding universities, the capital's police chief stated that while the police are keen to uphold "academic freedom," they emphasize the responsibility of universities to ensure that Jewish students and faculty can study, work, and fully participate in university life "without intimidation, harassment, or discrimination," pointing to recent data he claimed shows a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents at British universities compared to levels recorded before October 2023.

According to the police, their inability to prevent the demonstration is due to British law not requiring police approval to organize protests or marches, nor does it grant the police the authority to refuse to organize them, although they can impose conditions and restrictions on organizers under the "Public Order Act."

Harman stated that the police could request the Home Secretary to issue an order to ban the march if there are concerns about serious public disorder, but he clarified that the police do not have the authority to ban a static 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 do so may be subject to arrest," and confirming that they will follow a "zero tolerance policy for hate crimes and any other violations."

The police reported that more than 17,000 arrests have been made in London since October 2023 related to hate crimes, without specifying how many of these cases were related to anti-Semitism.