How can police deal with ‘jihad’ protests over the Israel-Gaza war?

Suella Braverman says she ‘recognises the complexities of the law in policing aspects of these protests’, writes Tom Peck, but she has not given the police extra powers to make arrests

Protesters holding Free Palestine placards during a March for Palestine rally in London (PA)

The Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, and Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, have prompted waves of rallies and demonstrations all over the world. In London, there have been several pro-Palestinian rallies, at which police chiefs have had the unenviable task of ensuring that free speech did not tip over into hate speech and, if it did, potentially taking action and making arrests.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley met home secretary Suella Braverman on Monday to discuss the best way to police demonstrations at a time of acute sensitivity.

People have been shocked by footage of a Tube driver leading his passengers in a chant of “Free, Free Palestine!” on a train packed with marchers heading to a pro-Palestinian rally. There is also a video that appears to show a man calling for “jihad” at a pro-Palestine event. To ensure that mass rallies adhere to the rules about what is and isn’t acceptable to chant, and deciding what action should be taken if those rules are not adhered to, is incredibly difficult.