Protesters march through London with ‘I love Hezbollah’ banners

From the Telegraph

I shouldn’t be shocked anymore; not at the hateful banners, nor the collusion of the police at allowing it (a dozen arrests from a crowd that size is too little too late) , nor the establishment for allowing the police. But I am. Not surprised. But still saddened and dismayed. 

Protesters brandishing banners in support of the terror group Hezbollah marched through central London on Saturday.

Police made more than a dozen arrests as tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian activists staged a demonstration through the capital to Whitehall, ahead of the first anniversary of the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.

In the crowd were several marchers who held placards and banners expressing their support for Hezbollah, the terror group that has controlled swathes of Beirut and southern Lebanon and launched repeated attacks on Israel in recent weeks.

The placards were on prominent display, despite the Metropolitan Police warning on Friday that it would crack down on any displays of support for proscribed terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

As the pro-Palestine marchers passed the British Library they chanted: “Yemen, Yemen make us proud. Turn another ship around” and “British Museum. Paint it red. Over 100,000 dead”.

The atmosphere in Covent Garden turned hostile as pro-Palestine activists and counter-demonstrators – who were separated by barriers and a row of police – shouted and chanted at each other as they passed.

There is a rally in London this afternoon to show continuing support for Israel on the anniversary of the massacre. I can’t go for the simple reason that I cannot cut myself in half. My husband says, ‘don’t worry, there will be other occasions, other events that will need your support’ and it makes me sad that this is true. The hostages are not yet home and Israel is threatened on all fronts. 

There were cries of “shame on you” as the pro-Palestine marchers taunted the pro-Israel group. At one stage a man wearing a sweatshirt in the colour of the Palestine flag gestured at the Israeli supporters and screamed: “Freedom fighters, they will finish you all off!”

Another marcher held a banner comparing the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews with the creation of the state of Israel after the war which drove out thousands of Palestinians.

Such a comparison is deemed anti-Semitic according to the international definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) intergovernmental alliance, as it belittles the unique nature of the Holocaust.

Responding to some of the placards on display, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “For the past year, those in power have allowed support for Hamas to run rampant on Britain’s streets week in, week out. Now, it seems we are seeing the results of their inaction as anti-Israel protesters have apparently moved on to defending Hezbollah, a proscribed anti-Semitic genocidal terror group. With images like these surfacing online from today’s so-called ‘peace-march’, it is clear that one year on from Oct 7, Sir Mark Rowley’s Metropolitan Police force has enabled Jew-hatred and support for terrorists to be normalised on our streets. Anyone professing support for Hezbollah or Hamas should be dealt with swiftly and must face the full force of the law, not walking around with impunity.

Scotland Yard said it was trying to identify those responsible for any banners and placards expressing support of banned organisations. It stated: “These images have been passed to officers, including those monitoring our camera systems. We are urgently trying to identify those involved so that action can be taken.”

We know they can do it when it suits them. Or the government tells they to jump. But…

The banner below is the worst, in my opinion. The homemade ones are one person’s opinion, although too many share that opinion. The long one is a group statement, and wants the destruction of the entire state of Israel, back to as it was in 1945.