Metropolitan Police have made 10 arrests after around 100,000 protesters gathered in central London on Saturday for a pro-Palestine march.
Attendees held signs that read "Freedom for Palestine" and "Stop Bombing Gaza" as they called for a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor in Gaza.
The platform at Marble Arch Tube station was briefly closed due to the enormous crowds. Protesters moved through London before massing at Downing Street.
Fireworks were launched at officers and five received minor injuries, the Met said. The 10 arrests were for offences involving fireworks, public order and assaulting an emergency service worker.
As the demonstration wound to a close, fireworks were "launched at officers from within the crowd" at Trafalgar Square, Metropolitan Police said.
"Two arrests have been made for offences under the Explosives Act 1875," the force said.
Officers also patrolled Kensington Hight Street and Bayswater Road where groups of protesters had gathered, and officers were outside the Israeli Embassy.
A dispersal order was authorised at 6.15pm in the City of Westminster until 1am on Sunday.
Officers are on scene on Kensington Hight Street, Bayswater Road and outside the Israeli Embassy.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 21, 2023
There are groups of protestors on both Kensington High Street and Bayswater Road who Officers are engaging with.
A reminder a S60AA was authorised by DAC Adelekan at 1741 hours. pic.twitter.com/s8r9zvrKLR
Saturday's march was organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign along with, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Stop the War Coalition, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Ahead of the march, a Met Police spokesperson said: “An appropriate policing plan will be in place throughout the day.
”More than 1,000 police officers were deployed at the march last Saturday. Fifteen people were arrested on suspicion of offences including assaults on emergency workers, public order offences and criminal damage."
Police had cautioned that anyone showing support for Hamas, banned as a terrorist organisation in Britain, would face arrest, and any incident of hate crime would not be tolerated.
It came amid significantly heightened community tensions with more police being required for parts of London with large Jewish populations and a sharp rise in anti-Semitic offences.
Figures on Friday showed there had been a 1,353 per cent increase in anti-Semitic offences this month compared to the same period last year, while Islamophobic offences were up 140 per cent.
On Friday evening Scotland Yard confirmed a man arrested on suspicion of showing support for Hamas at a pro-Palestine demonstration on Tuesday was released on bail.
Last weekend's protest saw 15 people arrested while nine police officers were injured.
Just a handful of those arriving at London's National March for #Palestine.
— Stop the War (@STWuk) October 21, 2023
This is going to be HUGE!
#FreePalestine #FreeGaza pic.twitter.com/WUbODFA12c
Security minister Tom Tugendhat also said it was “disgraceful” that a stage near to the Cenotaph was erected during the march.
Mr Tugendhat, who was formerly an officer in the British Army reserves, told Sky News: “It is disgraceful. To many of us the Cenotaph is sacred ground.
"There is a reason it matters so much to our national consciousness. It is not just a memory of wars past, where many of our grandparents … fought in the First and Second World Wars.
"For many of us it is a very living memory to our friends we lost in Iraq and Afghanistan or indeed in other conflicts around the world.
"So frankly, the fact that there is a stage there is absolutely outrageous.
"I’m told the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign didn’t even ask Westminster Council for permission to put it up and I’ll be doing everything I can in making sure it is not allowed to happen again.”
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said at a peace summit in Cairo: "This has been an issue which has long stimulated passions and we are now all seeing on social media and in our communities, how divisive and polarising the current situation has become."
