Says chants such as \u2018Globalise the Intifada\u2019 during demonstrations are \u2018completely off limits\u2019
\n london
\n British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in some circumstances because of the \u201ccumulative effect\u201d the demonstrations had \u200bon the Jewish community after two Jewish men were stabbed in \u200cLondon on Wednesday.
\nStarmer told the BBC that he would always defend freedom of expression and peaceful protest, but chants such as \u201cGlobalise the Intifada\u201d during demonstrations were \u201ccompletely off limits\u201d and those \u200bvoicing them should be prosecuted.
\nPro-Palestinian marches have become a regular feature \u200bin London since the October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza conflict. Critics say the demonstrations have generated \u200bhostility and become a focus for antisemitism.
\nProtesters have argued they are exercising \u200btheir democratic right to spotlight ongoing human rights and political issues related to the situation in Gaza.
\nStarmer said he was not denying there were \u201cvery strong legitimate views about the \u200bMiddle East, about Gaza\u201d, but many people in the Jewish community had \u200btold him they were concerned about the repetitive nature of the marches.
\nAsked if the tougher \u200cresponse should focus on chants and banners, or whether the protests should be stopped altogether, Starmer said: \u201cI think certainly the first, and I think there are instances for the latter.\u201d
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s time to look across the board \u200bat protests and the \u200bcumulative effect,\u201d he said, adding that the government needed to look at what further powers it could take.
\nBritain raised its terrorism \u200bthreat level to \u201csevere\u201d on Thursday amid mounting security concerns that \u200bforeign states were helping fuel violence, including against the Jewish community.
\n\u201cWe are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals and institutions in the UK,\u201d the head of \u200bcounter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor, said in a \u200bstatement, adding that police were also working \u201cagainst an unpredictable global situation that has consequences closer to \u200bhome, including physical threats by state-linked actors\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says chants such as \u2018Globalise the Intifada\u2019 during demonstrations are \u2018completely off limits\u2019 london British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the government could ban pro-Palestinian marches in some circumstances because of the \u201ccumulative effect\u201d the demonstrations had \u200bon the Jewish community after two Jewish men were stabbed in \u200cLondon on Wednesday. Starmer told the BBC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-544336","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n