People who carry signs expressing support for Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are committing a “criminal act”, a minister has warned after placards were seen at a pro-Palestine march at the weekend.
Science secretary Peter Kyle told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that the law enforcement agencies “have the full support” of the home secretary, the prime minister and the government “in doing what they need to do to make sure that criminal acts like that are tackled”.
It comes after the Metropolitan Police made at least 17 arrests during yesterday’s Middle East conflict demonstrations in central London.
The force said two people were arrested on suspicion of showing support to a proscribed terror organisation, one of whom appeared to be a parachute – suggested to be a reference to the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas last year.
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The force also said it was “aware” of social media posts showing people “holding placards with messages of support for Hezbollah” – a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK – and that such images had been passed on to its officers.
The protest followed Israel crossing the border into Lebanon to conduct what it called “limited, localised, and targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah – despite calls from its allies to cease fire.
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On 1 October, Iran, which supports Hezbollah, responded by launching nearly 200 missiles into Israel, stoking fears of a full-blown conflict in the Middle East.
According to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the past 12 months have seen more than 2,600 protests take place on UK streets in relation to the war in Gaza and some 550 arrests.
The Met also said the cost of policing such protests since last October and up to the beginning of September this year had reached more than £46m.
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Ahead of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel – which sparked a war in Gaza that has reportedly seen around 42,000 people killed – politicians and faith leaders have called for calm and for hatred to be rejected.
In an article for The Sunday Times, Sir Keir Starmer warned that the “flames from this deadly conflict now threaten to consume the region”, adding: “And the sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home.”
“During difficult times, our differences and diversity should bind us together more strongly, not drive us apart,” he wrote.
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“But there are always some who would use conflict abroad to stoke conflict here. Since 7 October, we have watched vile hatred against Jews and Muslims rise in our communities.
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“Any attack on a minority is an attack on our proud values of tolerance and respect. We will not stand for it.”
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, said the Jewish community has been “under threat for the last few years” and felt that it “sometimes it is not safe to go into the centre of London”.
“I’ve seen those signs yesterday of ‘I love Hezbollah’ in the centre of London. Is that acceptable in any way? To say you love and appreciate a terror organisation?
“It doesn’t show your British values. This is something that is beyond my understanding.”
