Pro-Palestinian protesters have vowed to continue demonstrations after the home secretary told them to stop events as they had “made their point” over the conflict in Gaza.
More than 600 people have been arrested at the protests since October, but demonstrators said they were planning to press on by targeting banks linked with the Israeli military this weekend.
When is the next pro-Palestinian protest?
The next pro-Palestinian events are planned to take place this Saturday when protesters are expected to target branches of Barclays bank.
Six branches in London will be picketed, as will branches in Cardiff, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Weymouth and Wolverhampton, among others across the country.
A rally will take place on Saturday, March 9, after police were forced to close Tower Bridge to vehicles and pedestrians last weekend when demonstrators lit flares as they demanded a ceasefire in Gaza.
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Details of the rally have yet to be announced.
Why is Barclays bank being targeted?
Pro-Palestinian protesters are calling for a boycott against the bank over its historic links to Israel.
According to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Barclays has invested more than £1 billion in companies supplying weapons and military technology to Israel. The campaigners said the bank also provided the firms with more than £3 billion in loans and underwriting.
Activists have been using the hashtags #StopBankingOnGenocide and #StopBankingOnApartheid on social media to raise support for the events.
What powers do the police have?
The Metropolitan Police have been placed under considerable pressure by the frequency of the Gaza protests, with 4,000 officer rest days being cancelled.
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The Public Order Act 2023 has given the police several new powers, including new offences of causing serious disruption by locking on, causing disruption by tunnelling, and interfering with national infrastructure.
Courts also have the power to impose requirements on individuals called Serious Disruption Prevention Orders (SDPOs). They can ban people from events or from discussing protests on the internet.
Breach of an SDPO without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both.
In a recent report by the home affairs committee, MPs concluded that the balance between the right to protest and the right of people to go about their daily lives was “generally maintained”.
But MPs recommended that the government consider changing protest rules to require organisers of a demonstration to give police more than six days’ notice. Chris Philp, the policing minister, has said they will consider extending the notice period to two weeks, which was met with criticism from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Why are they not using the new powers?
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Mark Rowley, the Met’s police commissioner, refused calls to ban pro-Palestinian marches on Armistice Day, arguing that there was no evidence there would be serious public disorder.
However, ministers have written to police chiefs to urge them to use “robust” new powers to clamp down on the protests.
Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and Philp said a demonstration outside the home of the Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was an example of “unacceptable” actions that risk having a “chilling effect on democracy”.
