Labour council permits year-long pro-Palestine protest outside US embassy
The Community Camp 4 Palestine (CC4Pal), situated at Nine Elms Pavilion on the Thames embankment, was set up last September, calling for an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza.
The camp comprises of tents, an open kitchen area and communal seating – as well as banners, posters and Palestinian flags.
The banners on display include 'End the siege on Gaza now', 'this is your genocide ', 'stop the genocide', 'free Palestine' and 'stop arming Israel'.
However, locals say they have been left 'distressed and intimidated ' by the ongoing encampment.
One resident who lives at nearby Embassy Gardens told The Telegraph: 'We suffer a lot from the encampment. I try to avoid walking that way where the encampment is.
'We hear a lot of chanting and noise. They [the activists] seem to vandalise the local area with a lot of stickers, banners, and graffiti, which I find distressing.
'We have complained to the council, but we have been told that they can't do anything about it.'
Another said in a written complaint: 'I am appalled to see that Wandsworth Council continues to allow, surely what is an illegal encampment by the river near the American Embassy.'
A third said: 'I am distressed every time I walk past here. I feel intimidated and take exception to the statements being made,' whilst a fourth added: 'The posters have increased in number over the last few months. This is totally unacceptable.'
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) is calling for the encampment to be closed down. The group has pointed out that displaying Palestinian flags and banners in a public place requires planning permission under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
In a letter to Andrew Travers, interim chief executive of London Borough of Wandsworth Council, Caroline Turner, director of UKLFI, said: 'Wandsworth Council is the owner of the land on which the activists have set up their 'encampment.' It is therefore the Council's responsibility to evict the protesters.'
She added: 'The Council does not appear to have taken all reasonable steps to secure the removal of the flags or banners on its land and therefore has committed and is continuing to commit criminal offences.'
Speaking to the Telegraph, Ms Turner said: 'The Council continues to drag its feet in removing the illegal encampment, which has distressed and intimidated Jewish and other residents when they walk past.
'It is Wandsworth Council's responsibility to remove this encampment with its flags, offensive posters, and slogans. We hope they will fulfill their duty and start the removal process.'
'Protect rights to peaceful assembly and expression'
The Telegraph understands that the encampment will remain in place until there is a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
In a petition set up last week, CC4Pal hit back and called on council leaders to keep the camp in place in order to ' protect rights to peaceful assembly and expression.'
They added: 'Our human and civic rights permit us to peacefully protest and express opposition to what the world's highest courts have deemed to be a plausible genocide and war crimes, being committed by Israel in Gaza.
'We are a diverse and inclusive group of concerned volunteers, moved by our collective humanity to act against Israeli crimes in Palestine.'
A spokesperson for Wandsworth Council said: 'Throughout the period this protest has been present on the site, we have and continue to engage with the protestors and the community.
'We also work closely with the police to ensure that any instances of anti-social behaviour (ASB) or other criminal behaviour is reported and dealt with.'
Last year, pro-Palestinian protesters camped outside Labour-run Hackney Council for several months, demanding civic chiefs 'divest Israeli Arms' and break a long-held twinning relationship with Haifa in Israel.
Encampments and sit-ins also sprang up across British universities last year, including at the universities of Oxford, Cambridg e, Manchester, Bristol, and University College London.
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