Man arrested for carrying swastika placard and another held for racist remarks at pro-Palestinian march

Two men have been arrested at a pro-Palestinian march in London, according to the Metropolitan Police.

One of the men was taken into custody for carrying a swastika emblazoned placard and another for an allegedly making racist remarks towards counter-protesters, police said.

The arrests come a week after a row erupted over a video that appeared to show a police officer preventing a counter-protester crossing a road near a pro-Palestinian march in London on 13 April.

On Saturday, thousands gathered for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) demonstration in the capital on Saturday afternoon to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

There was also a simultaneous static demonstration organised by pro-Israel group Enough is Enough, which took place along the route of the pro-Palestinian march.

Shortly before 1pm, Scotland Yard said officers had arrested a man carrying a swastika placard at Parliament Square, where the PSC march set off.

It later said another man was being held for shouting a “racist remark” towards Enough is Enough protesters on Pall Mall.

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Chants of “Stop bombing Gaza, stop bombing children” were sung by the crowds and placards saying “Free Palestine, smash the racists” were displayed.

Speaking on stage at Hyde Park, Palestinian ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said: “Change will come, campus by campus, city by city, country by country.

“The tide is turning because this is a global movement for change, a global assertion of popular power, of people’s power.”

Protesters could be heard chanting the controversial slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those holding banners at the front of the pro-Palestine protest.

The PSC march was the 13th national protest since the first was staged on 9 October, two days after the Hamas-led attack on Israel which claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people.

Police said these protests have cost around £38.4m and required 44,722 officer shifts as well as 6,399 officer rest days to be cancelled.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said the Met aimed to police “without fear or favour”, adding that protests in London had “been a particular cause of fear and uncertainty in Jewish communities”.

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He said the marches caused some Jewish people to stay away from the capital’s centre on protest days, avoid the Tube, hide their religion or otherwise change their behaviour.

A third demonstration organised by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) was due to take place on Saturday from 12pm until 2pm but was cancelled.

The organisation said it cancelled the “walk together” event – expected to attract thousands of people – after receiving threats and identifying “hostile actors” who threatened the safety of Jews.

The latest protest in central London comes as student protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continue to spread across the US, following last week’s arrest of more than 100 demonstrators at Columbia University.

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