‘Crazy, irresponsible, dangerous': Palestinian ambassador condemns Netanyahu's plan
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
London police arrest hundreds of protesters over banned pro-Palestine group
British police have arrested 466 people at a protest in central London in support of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group on Saturday. The Metropolitan police reported on their X account that an additional eight people were arrested for other offences including five for assaults on officers. Ahead of the protest Civil Rights Group Amnesty International released a statement urging the Met police not to make arrests on peaceful protesters. In early July, Parliament passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a criminal offence to publicly support the group. The move followed an incident in June when activists broke into Royal Air Force base and damaged two tanker planes to protest against Britain's support for Israel's offensive in Gaza. Supporters of Palestine Action say the ban unlawfully limits free speech. They have held protests across the UK over the past month. On Saturday, more than 500 people gathered in Parliament Square, many holding signs reading 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' Police had said on their X account that they were "preparing for a busy three days of protests and events". Protest organisers Defend Our Juries claimed in a statement that only a small number of protesters were detained and that most were quickly released. They called the arrests a "major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government's own crimes.' The Metropolitan Police rejected this, insisting that anyone openly showing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or in the process of being arrested. Officers also noted that many in the square were passers-by, media or people not carrying placards. Police said the protest was unusual because many participants wanted to be arrested to put pressure on the justice system. Related UK to ban activist group Palestine Action after sabotage of military planes Palestine Action has previously targeted Israeli defence companies and other sites in the UK linked to the Israeli military. The government says its ban follows the RAF base incident on 20 June, when activists sprayed red paint into the planes' engines and damaged them with crowbars in protest of British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. Supporters are challenging the decision in court, arguing the government has gone too far treating Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. Defend Our Juries said on its website, 'Once the meaning of 'terrorism' is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,'. The arrests took place during a weekend of protests in London linked to the war in Gaza and immigration. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched to Downing Street on Saturday, accusing the government of not doing enough to stop the war. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state later this year. On Sunday, other groups plan to march through central London calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza. Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers, which have seen recent clashes between anti-immigration activists and counterprotesters. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would 'put pressure' on police resources.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
Behind Europe's Anguished Words on Gaza, a Flurry of Hard Diplomacy
On the morning of July 23, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France met to discuss the Gaza crisis at a 112-year-old baroque revival mansion overlooking Lake Tegel in Berlin. Mr. Macron told Mr. Merz that he was under immense pressure at home and would likely recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations in late September, according to two officials familiar with the discussion, who requested anonymity to discuss private diplomatic conversations. It was a timeline, Mr. Merz responded, that gave everyone room to consider their next move. The next day, without telling the Germans, Mr. Macron announced his decision publicly, saying that recognition of Palestine showed France's 'commitment to a just and durable peace.' It was part of a remarkable surge of Middle East diplomacy among the European powers that accelerated on July 19, with the widespread publication of horrific pictures of starving children, and peaked 10 days later with a similar announcement on a Palestinian state by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain. Together, these moves amounted to a declaration of independence from the Trump Administration on a major strategic issue that the Europeans have long tried to approach in tandem. Interviews with a dozen officials and diplomats revealed a frantic and at times uncoordinated push for peace after years of debate, propelled by the conclusion they could no longer wait for the United States to lead or restrain Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister. A key part of the diplomatic effort was an eight-point plan developed quietly by British officials over the past six months and circulated among Europeans on July 29 by Jonathan Powell, Mr. Starmer's national security adviser and a veteran mediator. Mr. Powell was an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, and has advised on several conflicts since. A day after Mr. Powell began circulating the British plan, 22 Arab nations signed onto a declaration that mirrored its main goals at a United Nations conference co-hosted by Mr. Macron and the Saudis. The declaration included for the first time a demand from the Arab League that Hamas disarm and give up power in Gaza. After months of incremental actions, Europe's diplomatic surge reflected the global outrage over the carnage in the enclave, but also an attempt to provide Israel with a transformative show of will from Arab nations that might unlock peace negotiations. Officials familiar with the deliberations in all three countries said the flurry of activity was driven by evidence of widespread malnutrition and starvation in Gaza, growing demands from constituents for action and a conclusion that the United States had abandoned its efforts to push for peace or curtail Israeli military action. It is unclear whether the diplomacy will make any difference on the ground. Since Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. But a senior adviser to Mr. Macron on the Middle East, who asked not to be identified to discuss private diplomacy, was blunt: We had to act. On Thursday, Mr. Netanyahu effectively rebuffed Europe's calls for peace when his security cabinet approved an expansion of the war in Gaza. His decision to escalate the war prompted even Mr. Merz, a strong supporter of Israel, to suspend any shipments of German arms that could be used in Gaza. 'Waiting to Die' It was mid-July when Mr. Starmer, his foreign secretary, David Lammy, and their aides realized that their long-running debate over recognizing a Palestinian state had reached a tipping point. For months, they had insisted that the time wasn't right. In the year since Labour took office, they had denounced Israel's bombardment of Gaza, imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers and demanded more aid be allowed into the territory. But as late as July 16, Mr. Lammy maintained to frustrated Labour lawmakers that recognizing Palestine was not the same as establishing a viable state for Palestinians alongside Israel. 'I actually want to see two states,' Mr. Lammy, who traveled twice to the occupied West Bank before becoming foreign secretary, said during a committee hearing. But he suggested that recognizing Palestine at that moment would be more of 'a symbolic thing.' But the calculus changed quickly. On July 18, Israel announced an expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move the British government denounced as a 'flagrant breach of international law' that would critically undermine any chance of a two-state peace. The next day, the news media published pictures of starving children in Gaza, their bones protruding from emaciated bodies. It was a one-two punch, according to two senior British officials. The situation on the ground was rapidly deteriorating. Public pressure on Mr. Starmer was growing. On July 23, Sarah Champion, a Labour lawmaker, received a call from a friend in Gaza who was struggling to find food. 'My family and friends are just waiting to die now,' she said her friend told her. The next morning, Ms. Champion sent WhatsApp messages and emails to her colleagues, asking them to sign a letter calling on the prime minister to recognize Palestine. In the end, more than 255 signed. One Card to Play Mr. Macron's announcement came late on July 24. 'Peace is possible,' he wrote on social media, sharing a letter to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. His language reflected the pressure he felt to move quickly: 'It is urgent to implement the only viable solution to fulfill the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people.' Mr. Macron had been signaling for weeks that he wanted to make the announcement, but at times appeared hesitant. A British official said the U.K. had discussed a joint recognition of Palestine, but Mr. Macron made his announcement without telling them, either. After almost two years of war, French diplomats were frustrated by Israel's refusal to curb its military action or to plan for the postwar stabilization of Gaza. Mr. Macron had lost patience with President Trump, who no longer seemed to support a two-state solution and appeared uninterested in pressuring Mr. Netanyahu. The French president wanted momentum in the quest for peace, in part to support moderate Arab states that also want progress toward a Palestinian state. With France being the only nuclear power in the European Union, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and home to both the largest Jewish and the largest Muslim communities in Western Europe, Mr. Macron knew recognition of Palestine would resonate with many other nations. 'France had basically one card to play,' said Rym Momtaz, an expert in French foreign policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'Recognition of a Palestinian state.' 'Real Starvation Stuff' Given its Nazi history and its status as one of Israel's most important allies, Germany had always been unlikely to recognize a Palestinian state before it was established. But Mr. Merz was determined to be a part of the diplomatic efforts. A day after Mr. Macron's announcement, the German chancellor, the French president and Mr. Starmer issued a joint statement calling for an end to the war, the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, a massive influx of aid and a halt to any Israeli plans to annex more territory. The trio held a call the following morning. They agreed the situation was 'appalling,' according to a British written summary of the meeting. Food was trickling into Gaza, but not fast enough. There was no prospect of a cease-fire. The three nations — known as the E3 — have more influence when they are aligned. Their unity also gives them political cover domestically. So Germany has not criticized either France or Britain on their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state, in part, a senior German official said, because it needs E3 unity to help manage its own sharp domestic critics on Gaza. On Sunday, July 27, Mr. Merz spoke with Mr. Netanyahu directly. The chancellor left the call frustrated, according to a person familiar with the conversation, who spoke anonymously given the sensitivity of the subject, after the Israeli prime minister insisted during the call that there was no starvation in Gaza and that Hamas was stealing the ample food being delivered. The next day, Mr. Merz and Mr. Macron called in to a meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer in Scotland. The Europeans urged Mr. Trump to pressure Mr. Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject. After the meeting, Mr. Trump acknowledged the dire situation. 'That's real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can't fake that,' Mr. Trump told reporters. 'We have to get the kids fed.' A Unity Conference The day after Mr. Trump left Britain, Mr. Starmer made it official. He would recognize Palestine unless Israel moved swiftly to end the war and embark on a path toward a permanent peace. Mr. Lammy echoed his boss in a speech at the United Nations. 'It is with the hand of history on our shoulders that His Majesty's Government therefore intends to recognize the State of Palestine,' he said. He received a standing ovation. Canada joined Britain and France soon after. Mr. Starmer's announcement surprised the Germans. They already viewed Mr. Macron's announcement as counterproductive, hardening Israel's tone and Hamas's stance in cease-fire negotiations in Qatar, which had collapsed. That same day, Mr. Powell began sharing drafts of the British plan with the allies in the hopes of seizing a moment when heightened global outrage was being met with new examples of political will. Mr. Powell and others in the British government had been working on the plan for months, and had struggled to get Arab leaders to sign on. Now, along with France and Germany, they tried again. It was unclear to the diplomats whether Mr. Trump would support the plan, which incorporated some of the same ideas that officials in foreign capitals had proposed in the past to no avail. According to two European officials, it called for: a technocratic Palestinian government for Gaza linked to a reformed Palestinian Authority; an international security force; a full withdrawal by Israel; U.S.-led monitoring of the cease-fire; and — ultimately — two independent states. The British plan also presented an 'annex of implementation' with a timeline that included the previously scheduled U.N. conference, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving efforts toward a two-state solution. The plan envisioned Arab commitments at the conference and an eventual cease-fire in Gaza, culminating in a Saudi- and French-led peace plan for two states at the U.N. General Assembly in September. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had long said he wanted to normalize relations with Israel, but insisted that the war with Gaza needed to be resolved first and that there be concrete progress toward a Palestinian state. Despite asking several times, French officials said they were unable to determine whether the United States still supported a two-state, Israeli-Palestinian peace. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reacted with fury to the idea of the conference, calling it 'ill-timed' and 'a publicity stunt.' The Europeans pushed hard ahead, despite the criticism. Mr. Starmer made calls to several Arab leaders, seeking support for the road map outlined in Mr. Powell's document, including the disarmament of Hamas and the creation of a potential U.N.-led force to keep the peace after the war ended. Mr. Macron and Mr. Merz had similar discussions. The conference's final declaration surprised many veterans of Mideast diplomacy. 'Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support,' the document said, the first time such a call had been made collectively by all the Arab nations. The declaration also welcomed the idea of 'a temporary international stabilization mission' in Gaza that would operate at the direction of the United Nations. In another era, under a different Israeli government, the declaration might have been embraced by Israel as an off ramp from almost two years of brutal war. It might also have been a moment for the United States to assert its leverage as Israel's closest ally and the historic guarantor of its security. But Mr. Trump has shown little interest in pressuring Mr. Netanyahu to restrain his military or to wind down the war. The president has not objected publicly to the Israeli decision to take over Gaza City. Instead, Israel and the United States both rejected the U.N. declaration. Diplomats in Britain, France and Germany, many of whom had worked for years toward peace between Israel and Palestinians, expressed frustration at the lack of engagement by Mr. Trump, perhaps the only person in the world with the ability to push the Israeli prime minister to change course. They acknowledged that Mr. Netanyahu's actions in recent days are evidence that American power is necessary to make a real difference on the ground in the conflict. Still, several said that while they had known Mr. Netanyahu was likely to dismiss the idea, they had to try. The alternative, they said, was to simply walk away — a choice few were willing to make. Aurelien Breeden and Ségolène Le Stradic contributed reporting from Paris.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
London police arrest 365 people as pro-Palestinian protesters defy new law
LONDON — British police said they arrested 365 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group flouted the law as part of an effort to force the government to reconsider the prohibition. Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain's support for Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. in the last month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression. More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police to arrest them by displaying signs reading, 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.' That was enough for police to step in. As the demonstration began to wind down, police and protest organizers disagreed over the number of arrests, as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable. 'The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing 'terrorism' offenses, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,' Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, said in a statement. 'This is a major embarrassment to [the government], further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government's own crimes.' London's Metropolitan Police Service rejected that assertion, saying that many of those gathered in the square were onlookers, media members or people who didn't hold placards supporting the group. 'We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,' the police force said in a statement. On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers to place a strain on police and the criminal justice system. The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars. Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defense contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military. Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organization. 'Once the meaning of 'terrorism' is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,' Defend Our Juries said on its website. The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration stoke protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom. Though Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognize a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticize the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing St., the prime minister's official residence and offices. On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive. Israel's retaliatory attack in Gaza has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says more than half are women and children. Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the U.K. that are being used to house asylum seekers. Protesters and counterprotesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying what they see as anti-immigrant racism. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would 'put pressure' on the police department. 'This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,' Adelekan said before the protests began. Kirka writes for the Associated Press.
