TORY Home Secretary Suella Braverman called for the police to ‘use the full force of the law’ against displays of support for Hamas yesterday.
Braverman made the call on Twitter after reports of demonstrations in support of Palestine in London and elsewhere on Saturday.
The Met responded that it will provide a visible presence to ‘reassure communities’.
Braverman said: ‘Whenever Israel is attacked, Islamists and other racists use Israeli defensive measures as a pretext to stir up hatred against British Jews.
‘Yesterday I spoke with CST-UK (Community Security Trust) to ensure the government is doing everything necessary for the protection of our Jewish communities.
‘There must be zero tolerance for anti-semitism or glorification of terrorism on the streets of Britain.’
Braverman was irritated by people sharing videos showing Palestinian flags being waved, beeping car horns and clapping.
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, urged the Met to increase patrols, claiming people are ‘glorifying the terrorist activities of Hamas’.
Jenrick urged the police to ‘take this seriously’, adding that ‘there is no place for this in the UK’.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said: ‘We are aware of a number of incidents, including those that have been shared on social media, in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the border with Gaza.
‘The Met has increased policing patrols across parts of London in order to provide a visible presence and reassurance to our communities.
‘Anyone who experiences threatening behaviour or is worried about their safety is urged to contact police.
‘We will ensure that an appropriate policing plan is in place in order to balance the right to protest against any disruption to Londoners.’
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting backed Braverman and called for the police to investigate people supporting Hamas.
Streeting told GB News: ‘People celebrating on the streets of London and elsewhere in the UK need to ask themselves, where is their humanity? What we’re seeing is terrorism and our country’s got to stand against it and stand with Israel’s right to defend itself.’
Streeting also spoke out in support of private healthcare and admitted he uses it, saying: ‘When I was a student I needed a small operation, I had private insurance provided by my employer.
‘I’m not going to judge people who go private. I’m not going to judge employers who provide private medical insurance or staff who take it up. That is a perfectly reasonable choice to make.’
Tens of thousands march for Palestine
Hamas declared yesterday that the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation that began in Gaza on Saturday will escalate and spread to the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, highlighting that Palestinian fighters are still present in Israeli settlements.
Tens of thousands marched in support of Palestine and Hamas in Turkey, Yemen, Iran and throughout the Middle East yesterday.
Israeli media outlets reported on Sunday that approximately 750 Israeli soldiers and settlers have been missing since Saturday morning, with 600 Israelis reported killed.
Spokesman for the Israeli military Daniel Hagari said: ‘Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza. There are tens of thousands of combat soldiers in the area. We’ll reach each and every community till we kill’ every Palestinian fighter.
Hospital officials in the Gaza Strip have recorded the death of 313 civilians and injury of 1,990 others. A large number of buildings, homes and public facilities have also been badly damaged due to heavy Israeli bombardments.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with leaders of Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad yesterday.
Iran hailed the Palestinian attack calling it a ‘proud operation’ and a ‘great victory’.
‘This victorious operation, which will facilitate and accelerate the collapse of the Zionist regime, promises the impending destruction of the Zionist regime,’ said Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
‘I am congratulating this great and strategic victory, which is a serious warning to all compromisers in the region,’ he added in a letter to Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Saturday.
On Saturday, hundreds gathered in major cities in Iran, including in Tehran’s Palestine Square, carrying the Palestinian flag and pictures of slain General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a US drone attack in Baghdad in 2020 after overseeing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) foreign operations for more than a decade.
Large billboards celebrating the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ operation were installed in Tehran including one that says ‘the great liberation operation has begun’.
• See editorial
