Since last October, political speech and protest criticising the state of Israel has been policed ‘almost entirely as a potential “hate crime”’, according to a report published by Netpol at the end of May.
The testimony, evidence, statistics and media coverage gathered and analysed in In Our Millions reveals several other ‘worrying trends’ in the police response to recent Palestine solidarity protests in England and Wales, including evidence of racist and Islamophobic policing.
(The title of the report comes from a common chant on the Gaza ceasefire marches: ‘In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.’)
Politicians and others put pressure on the police to crack down on the major demonstrations, calling them ‘hate marches’ filled with criminality.
In fact, Netpol points out, the Metropolitan police’s own data shows that the Central London Gaza marches (and their counter-protests) saw only 305 arrests between 14 October 2023 – 31 March 2024.
No further action was taken in 44 percent (136) of cases.
Also, at least 89 of the arrests were of far-right demonstrators, arrested at a single event in November 2023.
Of the 305 arrests, 45 were for racially- or religiously-aggravated offences, but almost half were released without charge.
Only 15 arrests were for terrorism offences.
Arabic is a crime
According to the Arab News, two women were arrested at a Hizb ut-Tahrir pro-Palestine protest outside the Egyptian embassy in November – because they were carrying a placard with Arabic writing on it.
A police officer asked them to translate the message, which they did, but he was unable to confirm their translation with a police translator.
So he arrested them on suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offence and took them to a police station for questioning.
Netpol comments: ‘The lack of subsequent charge or criminal prosecution does not negate the harm that is done by policing of this kind.’
(The Arabic phrase was: ‘Who will roll up their sleeves for heaven?’ This is a reference to a saying of the prophet Muhammad.)
Another person was arrested at a Gaza march in London last November and convicted under the Terrorism Act because he was wearing a green headband with Arabic writing on it.
The prosecution accepted that it was not a Hamas headband, but Khaled Hajsaad was prosecuted and convicted because, in the context of the march, the bandana would ‘arouse reasonable suspicion that he is a member of [Hamas,] a proscribed organisation.’
On 21 June, Hajsaad was given a three-month suspended sentence. No fine was imposed because he is a destitute asylum-seeker.