Two people have been arrested after allegedly shouting slogans calling for “intifada” during a protest by pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London, police said.
Five people in total were detained outside the Ministry of Justice in Westminster on Wednesday evening, with further arrests for obstruction and public order offences.
It came after a change in approach from the Met and Greater Manchester police, who announced earlier on Wednesday they would arrest anyone chanting the words “globalise the intifada” or holding a placard with the phrase on it.
Since the mass pro-Palestinian protests began in October 2023 , London’s Metropolitan police have policed the most demonstrations, followed by Greater Manchester police (GMP).
The chiefs of both forces said attacks against Jewish people in Manchester, where two died, and in Sydney, Australia, where 16 died, including one of the alleged killers, meant new rules now applied.
In a joint statement, the Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, and GMP chief constable, Sir Stephen Watson, said: “The words and chants used, especially in protests, matter and have real-world consequences.
“We have consistently been advised by the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] that many of the phrases causing fear in Jewish communities don’t meet prosecution thresholds. Now, in the escalating threat context, we will recalibrate to be more assertive.
“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalise the intifada’ and those using them at future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action.
“Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed – words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests.
“Frontline officers will be briefed on this enhanced approach. We will also use powers under the Public Order Act, including conditions around London synagogues during services.”
The police chiefs added: “It is possible to protest in support of Palestinian people without intimidating Jewish communities or breaking the law.”
The biggest protest marches have been organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). Its director, Ben Jamal, condemned the police plan as “political repression of protest for Palestinian rights” and said uttering the word “intifada” was not a call for violence.
The Met in particular has been criticised for being too lax with protests, and also for being too severe.
The CPS, which prosecutes cases in England and Wales, was unable to say whether the new approach would hold water in the courts.
The Guardian understands Met chiefs believe they are taking undue criticism because footage from protests has shown chants that some object to, but officers have not taken action as they believe there is no prospect of conviction.
One person with knowledge of discussions said: “We get all the flak for it. The community only see the inaction. It’s not realistic we change nothing and keep plugging on with the same approach.”
Intifada literally means uprising or resistance, and is the term used by Palestinians for uprisings against Israel. The first intifada started in 1987, the second in 2000. For Palestinians it means resistance against oppression, but some Israelis – arguably a majority – associate it with violence, including suicide attacks.
Jewish groups say chants of intifada on British streets are seen as a call for new violence against those of their faith. Ultimately, it may be for magistrates and juries to decide what was meant and what the criminal offence was, if any.
The leading group working for the safety of Jewish people in Britain, the Community Security Trust, welcomed the move: “This announcement comes not a moment too soon. In particular, given the wave of terrorism against Jews around the world, it is intolerable that a call for a global ‘intifada’ should be allowed on our streets.
“We welcome the news that this behaviour will now be met with arrests. This is a necessary and important first step to turning back this tide of violent incitement and we hope that police across the country, and the CPS, will follow suit.”
However, Campaign Against Antisemitism’s chief executive Gideon Falter said: “After two years of repeatedly excusing calls to ‘globalise the intifada’, police chiefs are only now waking up to the fact that people who call for death to Jews like this should be locked away. But banning this one chant is a useless token measure … Unless the marches are banned altogether, it is hard to see how they will possibly enforce this ban.
“There is a great deal of catching up for police chiefs to do if we are going to restore law and order in this country. We pray that more Jews don’t need to die on their watch before they do.”
Jamal of the PSC said: “The implication that slogans used to support the liberation of the Palestinian people are only open to interpretation by groups who have maintained complicit support for Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people and denial of their rights is deeply problematic.
“It is worth noting that many of the groups who have been pressing for such action have urged the police to consider even the chant ‘Free, free Palestine’ to be a call for genocidal slaughter of Jewish people.
“We have also seen organisations like the Board of Deputies [of British Jews] make the claim that calling for a boycott of Israel in protest at its violations of international law and Palestinian rights is inherently antisemitic.”
He added: “The horrific massacre in Sydney, Australia, should not be used as a justification to further repress fundamental democratic rights of protest and free speech in this country.
“We need to condemn all racist violence – that directed against Jewish people gathering to celebrate their faith and culture on a beach, and the systemised racist violence of apartheid and genocide that Israel employs against Palestinians. You are not an anti-racist unless you stand fully against both.”
Lionel Idan, the CPS’s hate crime lead, said the service was working closely with police and communities to “identify, charge and prosecute antisemitic hate crimes and we will always look at ways we can do more”.
The CPS statement made no mention of the term “globalise the intifada” being banned, and Idan said: “We carefully consider each antisemitic hate crime case referred to us for charging decision or early advice to see whether it can be taken to court.
“Some offences can be context specific and where the evidence is not sufficient, we will work with police to identify what more can be done to meet the threshold for charging.”
