Pro-Palestinian protests described as 'un-British' following Manchester attack, British interior minister asserts
News Agency
The Interior Minister expressed disappointment that Palestinian-supporting demonstrations proceeded on Thursday after the terrorist incident that claimed two lives near a Jewish place of worship in the city of Manchester.
Britain's top security official also called on demonstrators to "step back" from intentions to hold protests in the coming days.
"In my view that continuing in this manner seems contrary to British values, it seems misguided," she stated about demonstrations arranged for this weekend.
Demonstrators in central London protesting the Israel's naval forces intercepting a flotilla transporting aid to the Gaza Strip clashed with police officers outside the Prime Minister's residence on Thursday night.
Numerous people carrying Palestinian flags and signs could be observed on the government district into the evening.
The Metropolitan Police stated that 40 people had been detained. A half-dozen of those detained were charged with attacks against law enforcement personnel.
"It's crucial to draw a line between events unfolding in the Middle Eastern region and what is happening at home," the home secretary stated during a television interview on Friday.
"I would say to people who are planning to join a protest is to just take a step back for a short while, and consider if you had suffered the loss of a close relative to a terrorist incident in this country," she emphasized.
There were "strong" measures to protect the freedom to protest, she noted, but they could be overridden on the recommendation of the law enforcement.
"I can act based from the police, if they were to advise me there was an inability to manage and to control the demonstrations, then there are authorities that are available," she explained.
Community leaders express concerns
The UK's senior rabbinical leader remarked that many members of the Jewish community asked why marches in support of Palestinian advocacy groups had been allowed to take place.
The movement was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July. At numerous protests following the ban, hundreds have been taken into custody for demonstrating backing for the organization, which has secured approval to challenge the restriction.
"A portion of them contain explicit antisemitism, outright support for the militant group. Not everyone involved, however there is considerable of such content, which certainly is harmful to many within our community," the chief rabbi declared.
"You cannot separate the words on our public spaces, the conduct of people in this manner, and what inevitably results, which was the recent terrorist attack."
Additionally, he urged the government "once more", to "get a grip on these protests, they are risky."