A conductor with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra has been arrested during a protest near the Israel-Gaza border.
Ilan Volkov, who was born in Israel, is understood to have been one of four people detained on Friday while marching towards the Gaza border calling for an end to the violent conflict in the region.
Footage posted online by Channel 4 News showed Volkov being led by an armed officer into the back of a police vehicle bearing an Israeli flag emblem.
Volkov said as he was being led away: “We need to stop the genocide now. It’s ruining everyone’s lives. Stop it.”
Local media reported that four people including Volkov were detained and that they were released shortly afterwards.
Volkov, 49, who was born in Tel Aviv, became chief conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (SSO) in January 2003, the youngest chief conductor appointed to a BBC orchestra at the time. He became its principal guest conductor in 2009.
Volkov surprised the audience with his speech at the Proms
His arrest followed a video clip of him speaking out during a pause in proceedings at the Proms in London as he led the BBC SSO went viral after he made an impassioned call for an end to the “madness” in Gaza.
He told the audience at the Royal Albert Hall: “In my heart there is great pain. I come from Israel, I live there, I love it, it’s my home. But what’s happening is atrocious and horrific on a scale that’s unimaginable.
• Conductor Ilan Volkov: Why I had to condemn Israel at the BBC Proms
“Innocent Palestinians being killed in thousands, displaced again and again, without hospitals and schools. Israeli hostages are kept in terrible conditions for almost two years and political prisoners are languishing in Israeli jails.
“I ask you all to do whatever is in your power to stop this madness. Every little action counts while governments hesitate and wait. We cannot let this go on any longer, every moment that passes puts the safety of millions at risk.”
He was briefly interrupted by a heckler who shouted an obscenity, to which Volkov replied: “You will let me finish and then you can curse me all your life, no problem.”
He was met with applause, and continued: “Israelis, Jews and Palestinians — we are not able to stop this alone. I ask you, I beg you all to do whatever is in your power to stop this madness.”
Speaking afterwards, Volkov said he would not be working in Israel “for the foreseeable future”.
He said: “The phrase ‘not in my name’ is not always helpful but this war is happening in my name and I am going to fight against it. We have to make a stand. We have to think creatively about what we can do. I believe that now all non-violent ways of trying to influence the situation are crucial.”
Palestinians are facing intense bombardments in the conflict, as Israeli tanks and jets pound Gaza City, the target of a major ground offensive. Israel says its aim is to dismantle Hamas and return all hostages being held in Gaza.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the BBC SSO were contacted for comment.