Pro-Palestinian protests described as 'not in keeping with British values' in the wake of Manchester synagogue terror incident, UK interior minister asserts
Media Agency
Britain's Home Secretary conveyed dismay that pro-Palestinian demonstrations went ahead on Thursday evening following the terror attack that claimed the lives of two men outside a Jewish place of worship in the city of Manchester.
Britain's home secretary also urged protesters to "step back" from intentions to stage marches in the next few days.
"I believe that proceeding in this manner does feel contrary to British values, it seems inappropriate," she remarked about demonstrations planned for this week.
Protesters in central London demonstrating against the Israel's naval forces stopping a flotilla transporting humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip confronted with law enforcement near the Prime Minister's residence on Thursday evening.
Large crowds displaying flags of Palestine and placards could be observed on Whitehall into the night.
The police force stated that 40 people had been arrested. Six of those detained were arrested for attacks against police officers.
"It's essential to establish separation between what is happening in the Middle Eastern region and what is happening at in our country," the minister remarked on a television interview on Friday morning.
"I would advise to people who are intending to participate in a protest is to reconsider briefly for a short while, and imagine if you had suffered the loss of a close relative to a terror attack in this country," she continued.
There were "substantial" powers to protect the freedom to demonstrate, she noted, but they could be superseded on the advice of the law enforcement.
"I can take my lead from the law enforcement, if they were to advise me there was an lack of capacity to respond and to control the protests, then there are legal measures that are accessible," she clarified.
Community representatives voice worries
The UK's Chief Rabbi commented that many people of the Jewish community asked why marches in support of Palestinian advocacy groups had been authorized to proceed.
The group was outlawed as a terrorist organisation in the summer. At numerous protests following the ban, numerous individuals have been detained for expressing solidarity for the group, which has won approval to dispute the restriction.
"Some of them include blatant anti-Jewish sentiment, direct support for Hamas. Not every single person, however there is so much of such content, which certainly is risky to many within our community," the chief rabbi stated.
"It's impossible to disconnect the words on our public spaces, the behavior of people in this way, and what subsequently occurs, which was yesterday's violent act."
Additionally, he appealed to the administration "once more", to "get a grip on these protests, they are harmful."