Starmer called for a review of protest powers, warning repeated demonstrations are straining community relations. The announcement follows injuries to two Jewish men in London.<\/p>\n
In London, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in certain circumstances because of a \u201ccumulative effect\u201d of demonstrations on the Jewish community after two Jewish men were injured in London on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Starmer told the BBC that he would always defend freedom of expression and peaceful protests, but chants like \u201cGlobalise the Intifada\u201d during protests were \u201ccompletely outside what is allowed,\u201d and those who shout them should be held to account.<\/p>\n
Palestinian marches have become a regular part of life in London since Hamas\u2019s attack on Israel in October 2023, which began the war in Gaza. Critics argue the demonstrations fuel hostility and become hotbeds of anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n
Protesters argue that they are not breaking the law, insisting that by exercising democratic rights they draw attention to humanitarian and political issues related to Gaza.<\/p>\n
Starmer added that he does not deny the existence of \u201cvery strong legitimate views about the Middle East, about Gaza,\u201d but many people in the Jewish community express concern about the repetition of marches.<\/p>\n
A Look at Protests and Government Powers<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, undoubtedly, the first, and for the second there are cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Keir Starmer<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time to reassess everything from the perspective of protests and their cumulative impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Keir Starmer<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time to reassess everything from the perspective of protests and their cumulative impact,\u201d said Starmer, adding that the government should consider what further powers it could apply.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the United Kingdom raised the terrorism threat level to \u201cserious\u201d amid growing concerns that foreign states are helping fuel violence, including against the Jewish community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the United Kingdom,\u201d said Lawrence Taylor, head of the Counterterrorism Unit, adding that the police are also working \u201cagainst an unpredictable global situation with consequences closer to home, including physical threats from state actors.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government continues to consider what additional powers it may deploy to balance the right to freedom of expression and public safety, and how to reduce tensions around protests in the country. The United Kingdom is also refining its security strategy in light of growing challenges on the international stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Starmer called for a review of protest powers, warning repeated demonstrations are straining community relations. The announcement follows…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[126],"tags":[34569,34570,264,34568,22960,50,34571],"class_list":["post-57412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-keir-starmer","tag-antisemitism-in-uk","tag-ban-on-marches","tag-keir-starmer","tag-keir-starmer-pro-palestine-marches-london-protests-ban-on-marches-antisemitism-in-uk","tag-london-protests","tag-news","tag-pro-palestine-marches"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/116520368728379302","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}