Police have made dozens of arrests after protests across the UK against a bombing campaign and expected ground war in Gaza after the murderous attacks by Hamas in Israel.
Many protesters remain unsure whether they can now carry or wear symbols such as a Palestinian flag or join in chants.
Is the government calling for a clampdown on protests against Israel’s response to the attacks?
Suella Braverman has on several occasions called for the police to intervene in demonstrations or attempts to intimidate the Jewish community or glorify acts of terrorism.
On 8 October, the home secretary said police should “use the full force of the law” against displays of support for Hamas after an escalation of attacks on Israel’s borders.
What has she asked police to do?
On 11 October, Braverman wrote to chief constables in England and Wales saying that waving a Palestinian flag or singing a chant advocating freedom for Arabs in the region might be a criminal offence.
“It is not just explicit pro-Hamas symbols and chants that are cause for concern. I would encourage police to consider whether chants such as: ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ should be understood as an expression of a violent desire to see Israel erased from the world, and whether its use in certain contexts may amount to a racially aggravated section 5 public order offence,” she said.
She claimed that waving a flag may be “glorifying acts of terrorism” in certain circumstances.
“I would encourage police to give similar consideration to the presence of symbols such as swastikas at anti-Israel demonstrations. Context is crucial. Behaviours that are legitimate in some circumstances, for example the waving of a Palestinian flag, may not be legitimate such as when intended to glorify acts of terrorism.
“Nor is it acceptable to drive through Jewish neighbourhoods, or single out Jewish members of the public, to aggressively chant or wave pro-Palestinian symbols at. Where harassment is identified, I would encourage the police to take swift and appropriate enforcement action,” she wrote in the letter.
What are the laws that govern protesting in the UK?
Articles 10 and 11 of the European convention on human rights protect an individual’s right to freedom of expression and assembly and protect the right to peaceful protest.
But successive governments have implemented laws that restrict the right to protest. The Public Order Act 1986 provides the police with powers to restrict protests by placing conditions on them.
These powers were strengthened by part 3 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which aimed to stop new forms of non-violent “flash” protest from groups such as Just Stop Oil.
Is it illegal to have or protest with a Palestinian flag or sing songs about Palestine?
Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister, said that in narrow circumstances such as outside a Jewish school or in a predominantly Jewish area, actions such as waving a flag or singing a particular song could be a public order offence where they cause harassment, alarm or distress.
“Equally, protesting outside of a Muslim school shouting and waving Israeli flags in the current situation whilst tensions are high and people are fairly afraid for their physical security [could also be an offence],” he said.
If a protester waves a flag, would that be enough to justify being arrested for glorifying terrorism?
Legal experts have questioned whether this is the case. “I can’t see how anything but explicit support for Hamas and its actions could be a [terror] offence. Waving a Palestinian flag or chanting ‘from the river to the sea’ isn’t that,” said Wagner.
Are police arresting demonstrators for flag-waving, singing songs or other forms behaviour flagged by Braverman?
In an open letter to the Jewish community in London last week, the Metropolitan police deputy commissioner, Dame Lynne Owens, said officers must be careful about misinterpreting support for Palestine as support for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group.
“What we cannot do is interpret support for the Palestinian cause more broadly as automatically being support for Hamas or any other proscribed group, even when it follows so soon after an attack carried out by that group and when to many the link seems indisputable.
“An expression of support for the Palestinian people more broadly, including flying the Palestinian flag, does not, alone, constitute a criminal offence,” she said.
