Police clash with Gaza war protesters at London university
Video shows police confronting students protesting against Israel's war on Gaza outside King's College London. At least one student was arrested.
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Al Jazeera
4 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israelis hold protest to end Gaza war and ‘bring back the hostages'
Thousands of protesters in Israel have taken to the streets demanding an end to the war in Gaza and a deal to free captives held there, as the military intensifies attacks on Gaza City to force tens of thousands of starving Palestinians to flee again. Israeli schools, businesses and public transport have been shut down, with demonstrations planned in major cities as part of a national day of action by two groups representing a number of the families of captives and bereaved families. Protesters, who fear further fighting could endanger the 50 captives believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive, chanted: 'We don't win a war over the bodies of hostages.' 'Military pressure doesn't bring hostages back – it only kills them,' former captive Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv's so-called 'Hostage Square'. 'The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.' Police said they had arrested 32 as part of the nationwide demonstration – one of the fiercest since the uproar over six captives found dead in Gaza last September. Sunday's rallies came just days after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to advance on Gaza City, nearly two years into a genocidal war that has devastated the enclave, left much of its population on the brink of famine, and led to Israel being increasingly internationally isolated. At Tel Aviv's so-called 'Hostage Square', activists unfurled a huge Israeli flag covered with the faces of captives still held in Gaza. Protesters also blocked major roads, including the highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where tyres were set alight and traffic came to a standstill, according to local reports. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of those held, declared a nationwide strike. 'We will shut down the country today with one clear call: Bring back the 50 hostages, end the war,' the group said, pledging to escalate their campaign with a protest tent near the Gaza border. 'If we don't bring them back now – we will lose them forever,' the group warned. In Jerusalem, businesses closed as demonstrators joined marches. 'It's time to end the war. It's time to release all of the hostages. And it's time to help Israel recover and move towards a more stable Middle East,' said Doron Wilfand, a 54-year-old tour guide speaking to the AFP news agency. Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli diplomat and consul general in New York, told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv that while protests were spread across the country, turnout remained relatively small. 'The number of people is pretty small … I do expect it to increase during the day,' he said, noting many shops, restaurants and universities were closed, with public transport running at half capacity. 'It's not a general strike in the sense that people envisage, but it is palpable, it's tangible, you can feel it in the air.' On Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to the unrest, Pinkas was scathing. 'Most prime ministers would have resigned after October 7th … He is not just another prime minister. He cares only about his survival. He is driven by some Messianic delusions of redrawing the Middle East.' Pinkas added that Netanyahu was deflecting public anger by blaming 'the elites' and a 'deep-state cabal' rather than taking responsibility. Israeli government condemns protests President Isaac Herzog voiced support for the captives' return, urging international pressure on Hamas rather than heeding calls to halt the war. But senior government figures lashed out at the protests. Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich denounced them as 'a perverse and harmful campaign that plays into the hands of Hamas,' while Culture Minister Miki Zohar said blocking roads 'is a serious mistake and a reward to the enemy'. Police reinforced their presence across the country, warning that no 'public order disturbances' would be tolerated. Demonstrations were also held near the Gaza border, including in Beeri, a kibbutz badly hit during the Hamas-led attack of October 2023. At least 1,139 people were killed in that attack that triggered what campaigners say is Israel's war of vengeance. More than 61,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority women and children, in an Israeli offensive that has been dubbed genocide by multiple rights groups. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yaov Gallant have been issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials said efforts were under way to broker a 60-day truce that would include captive releases. A previous round of talks in Qatar collapsed without progress. The last trace agreed to in January was broken by Israel in March. Israel's plan to expand the offensive into Gaza City has been met with international alarm, as United Nations-backed experts warn of famine across the territory.
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump admin backs off Washington, DC police takeover after striking deal
The administration of US President Donald Trump has reversed course and agreed to leave the Washington, DC police chief in control of the department, after Washington officials and the United States Justice Department negotiated a deal at the urging of a federal judge. Trump had placed Washington's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control on Monday and ordered the deployment of 800 National Guard troops onto the streets of the capital, claiming a surge in crime. On Friday afternoon, a deal was hammered out at a federal court hearing after Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb had sought a court order blocking Trump's police takeover as illegal. Trump administration lawyers conceded that Pamela Smith, the police chief appointed by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, would remain in command of the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the accord presented by the two sides to US District Judge Ana Reyes. But US Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a new memo, directed the district's police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement regardless of any city law. Meanwhile, the precise role of Drug Enforcement Administration head Terry Cole, who had been named by Bondi as the city's 'emergency police commissioner' under Trump's takeover bid, is still to be hashed out in further talks. In a social media post on Friday evening, Bondi criticised Schwalb, saying he 'continues to oppose our efforts to improve public safety'. But she added, 'We remain committed to working closely with Mayor Bowser.' Legal battle Friday's legal battle is the latest evidence of the escalating tensions in mostly Democratic Washington, DC. As the weekend approached, though, signs across the city — from the streets to the legal system — suggested a deepening crisis over who controls the city's immigration and policing policies, the district's right to govern itself and daily life for the millions of people who live and work in the metro area. Bowser's office said late on Friday that it was still evaluating how it can comply with the new Bondi order on immigration enforcement operations. The police department already eased some restrictions on cooperating with federal officials facilitating Trump's mass-deportation campaign but reaffirmed that it would follow the district's sanctuary city laws. In a letter sent Friday night to DC citizens, Bowser wrote: 'It has been an unsettling and unprecedented week in our city. Over the course of a week, the surge in federal law enforcement across DC has created waves of anxiety.' She added that 'our limited self-government has never faced the type of test we are facing right now,' but added that if Washingtonians stick together, 'we will show the entire nation what it looks like to fight for American democracy – even when we don't have full access to it.' The police takeover is the latest move by Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of undocumented people in the United States. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city's homicide rate ranks below those of several other major US cities, and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the Trump administration has portrayed. The president has more power over the nation's capital than other cities, but DC has elected its own mayor and city council since the Home Rule Act was signed in 1973. Trump is the first president to exert control over the city's police force since the Act was passed. The law limits that control to 30 days without congressional approval, though Trump has suggested he would seek to extend it.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
UK to prosecute 60 more people for backing banned Palestine Action group
London's Metropolitan Police say at least 60 people will face prosecution for 'showing support' for Palestine Action, the activist group outlawed as a 'terrorist organisation' last month for protesting Israel's genocide in Gaza. Three others have already been charged. 'We have put arrangements in place that will enable us to investigate and prosecute significant numbers each week if necessary,' the force said in a statement on Friday. Since the controversial ban on July 7, more than 700 people have been detained at peaceful protests, including 522 arrested at a protest last weekend for holding signs backing the group, believed to be the largest number of arrests at a single protest in the capital's history. Critics, including the United Nations, Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have called the ban an overreach that risks stifling free speech. Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said the latest decisions were the 'first significant numbers' from recent demonstrations, adding: 'Many more can be expected in the next few weeks. People should be clear about the real-life consequences for anyone choosing to support Palestine Action.' The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission has also warned against a 'heavy-handed' approach, urging the government and police to ensure protest policing is proportionate and guided by clear legal tests. The initial three prosecutions earlier this month stemmed from arrests during a July demonstration, with defendants charged under the Terrorism Act. Police said convictions for such offences could carry sentences of up to six months in prison, along with other penalties. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley praised the rapid coordination between officers and prosecutors, saying he was 'proud of how our police and CPS teams have worked so speedily together to overcome misguided attempts to overwhelm the justice system'. Home Office Minister Yvette Cooper defended the Labour government's decision to proscribe Palestine Action, stating: 'UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority. The assessments are very clear, this is not a non-violent organisation.' The group was banned days after claiming responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England, which the government claims caused an estimated 7 million pounds ($9.3 million) in damage to two aircraft. The home office has accused it of other 'serious attacks' involving 'violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage'. Palestine Action has said its actions target the United Kingdom's indirect military support for Israel amid the war in Gaza. The UK's Liberal Democrats voiced 'deep concern' over using 'anti-terrorism powers' against peaceful protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated in several UK cities for nearly two years, calling for an end to Israel's war on Gaza and for the British government to stop all weapons sales to the country. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last month that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes 'substantive steps' to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process. Many who have been protesting to end Palestinian suffering have said the move is too little, too late.
