A group of people staged a demonstration Monday to express their support for two pro-Palestine movement leaders who have been charged by police with public order offences related to a January march.
Gathering outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the crowd criticized the government's policies and the policing of pro-Palestine marches and activists as Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), and Chris Nineham, vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition, both appeared in the court.
Jamal, 61 and Nineham, 63, who are both accused over a protest held in central London on Jan. 18 which saw 77 people arrested, were charged with public order offences.
During the hearing, the judge granted the defendants unconditional bail and fixed a trial date of Feb. 23 next year at the same court.
Meanwhile, the pro-Palestinian protesters waved flags and chanted slogans outside the court in support of Jamal and Nineham
"Stop political policing," "Just who wants to silence us?" and "Proscribe the UK gov't" were among signs held by protesters during the rally.
A small group of pro-Israeli protesters tried to interrupt the demonstration as they were blocked off by police officers.
Speaking at the rally, Nineham said that attempts to shut the Palestine solidarity movement down "backfired."
"We cannot afford to be silenced. This is about Palestine," he added.
Jamal said that "all of us understand what is happening to Chris and myself as part of the broader repression of our movement."
"(It is) a repression that has led to those people who have taken forms of direct action, non-violent direct action in the noble tradition of the suffragettes and the civil rights movement, being proscribed as terrorists."
Meanwhile, PSC said in a statement that these attempts "to silence solidarity for the Palestinian people will not work."
Several counter-protesters also appeared carrying Israeli flags and holding signs that said “Defend protest for all” and were subsequently blocked off from the larger crowd by police officers.
The arrest of 77 people during the pro-Palestine march on Jan. 18 in London brought growing pressure on the Metropolitan Police over its handling of the protest.
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October 2023, more than 57,500 Palestinians — mostly women and children — have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
