UK police urge cancellation of pro-Palestinian protest after attack
British police have asked organisers of a planned pro-Palestinian protest in London this weekend to cancel or postpone the event following the deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue.
“The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London,” the Metropolitan Police said on X.
Police said they wanted to deploy every available officer to protect communities but were instead having to prepare for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in London’s Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of Palestine Action, an organisation banned under anti-terrorism laws in July.
“By choosing to encourage mass law breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries [protest organisers] are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most,” the police said.
You don't have to arrest the elderly holding up a sign for free speech... London is not Manchester either. Lying pieces of scum, British police is just there to serve the rich and powerful. Disgraceful.
Stop supporting and defending genocide.
Palestinian Authority denounces Manchester synagogue attack
The Palestinian presidency has affirmed its “absolute rejection of targeting civilians in their homes, places of worship, and anywhere else”, according to a statement.
“Solidarity with the Palestinian people must not be used to carry out acts of violence or anti-Semitic actions, which we reject,” it added.
In Thursday’s attack, two men, Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed after a British man of Syrian descent drove a car into pedestrians and then began stabbing people outside Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.
Police have not publicly indicated the motive behind the attack though they declared it a “terrorism incident”.
‘What Israel is doing is anti-Jewish’: UK scholar on Manchester synagogue attack
Haim Bresheeth, a prominent Israeli retired scholar living in the United Kingdom, has drawn a link between Israel’s war on Gaza and the Manchester synagogue attack.
“What Israel is doing is not Jewish – it’s anti-Jewish – and we have warned time and again that these activities will bring a rise in anti-Semitic hatred,” Bresheeth told Al Jazeera.
As we’ve been reporting, two men were killed on Thursday when a British man of Syrian descent rammed a vehicle into pedestrians and stabbed people outside Manchester’s Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, in what police have called a “terrorist” incident.
Bresheeth, founder of the UK-based advocacy group Jewish Network for Palestine, said people who are already “marginally unbalanced” may see footage of Israel’s “very disturbing war crimes and start terror activities”.
He called on Jews and allies to stand against Israel and against anti-Semitism.
“We are asking time and again for Jewish communities to stand with the Palestinians against genocide,” Bresheeth said. “Jews supporting genocide? Jews doing genocide? This is sick, this is mad. We shouldn’t be doing this.”
