Pro-Palestinian protesters, counter-protesters clash in central London

Pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protesters clashed in central London on Wednesday as police intervened during a demonstration in Russell Square. Pro-Israel protesters approached students supporting Palestine who wanted to continue the march and hurled insults at them. British police detained several people from both groups but had not yet released an exact number. Students from King's College London, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), University College London (UCL) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), protesting Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip, which has entered its third year, began a march from King's College London in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The group organizing the pro-Palestinian protest later told participants to disperse. The demonstration, which was scheduled to end at 2 pm local time (1300GMT), concluded at around 1.15 pm (1215GMT), with activists saying they would disperse for security reasons. Marching toward University College London in Russell Square, the students carried Palestinian flags and chanted slogans along the route, including 'End the genocide in Gaza' and 'Leave the Palestinian people alone.' When the university students reached Russell Square, they came face-to-face with a pro-Israel group. As the two groups exchanged chants, police officers moved between them and took security measures. The pro-Israel protesters reportedly approached students supporting Palestine who wanted to continue the march and hurled insults at them. One of the protesters, speaking to Anadolu, said the rally had been approved by the Home Office and that demonstrators were protesting in support of Palestine and calling for an end to Israel's genocide in Gaza. The protester said several people he identified as Israeli soldiers had followed and harassed demonstrators in the streets of London. 'While we rallying for Palestine to stop the genocide and stop the lobby, Zionist lobby to fund Israel, we been attacked by a few Israeli army soldiers in the street of London, they are fully free. They move fully freely, following us, harassing us, saying words, using all bad words, and us as as as we all know, we've been we've been rallying for like three years.' 'We have zero crime committed. We are abiding by the law. We have followed every single instruction the police give to us,' he said. He also said that a group of counter-protesters had gathered in advance in an attempt to provoke confrontations and lead to arrests. Despite the clashes, the protester said demonstrators would continue their march toward the Home Office, adding that they would not abandon their cause. The protester said activists had been holding demonstrations for around three years and maintained that they would continue to rally in support of Palestine. The Metropolitan Police imposed strict conditions on the march, warning that anyone who breached them could be arrested. Deputy Assistant Commissioner James Harman, who leads Met operations including public order policing, said police could not ban the protest unless the risk of serious disorder was so high that it could not be managed through conditions. 'We hear the calls for this event to be banned. The police cannot ban protests and can only ask the Home Secretary to do so if the risk of serious disorder is so high that it can't be managed by conditions. That high bar is not met here,' Harman said in a statement Tuesday. He also rejected claims on social media that the Met had banned other protests, including a UKIP march in Tower Hamlets. 'This will be a day of mourning and reflection for many in London and we know the serious concerns that this event has caused Jewish communities in particular,' Harman said. 'We have imposed stringent conditions on those taking part in this march. These will help us manage the event and minimise serious disruption.' Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and wounded over 175,000 in Gaza. About 90% of the territory's infrastructure has been destroyed. Despite an October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli attacks have since killed 1,454 Palestinians and wounded another 5,090, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.