Elderly women among 355 people arrested during pro-Palestine demonstration

A blind person and elderly women are among 355 people arrested at a Palestine Action demonstration in central London this afternoon.

Six protesters were also detained after a group unfurled a banner on Westminster Bridge in support of the proscribed organisation, the Met Police said.

The force added that some arrested protesters had to be carried out of Trafalgar Square by as many as five officers.

It comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joined police forces and other prominent politicians in pleading with demonstrators to postpone today’s rally following the fatal terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester on Thursday.

Demonstrators held up signs reading ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’

A 73-year-old woman who refused to provide her name was among those arrested after wearing a T-shirt ‘Plasticine Action’ written on it.

She said: ‘It’s outrageous we were being asked not to protest.

‘Two people got killed. I mean it’s terrible.

‘But they’re letting this genocide carry on. That’s thousands of people. In Jewish, that’s ridiculous.’

Asked whether Hamas is a terror organisation, she said: ‘I don’t know. I don’t know enough about Hamas. But it’s up to the Palestinians what they have in their country.’

She later clarified that a lot of Hamas members are ‘freedom fighters’.

Also on the protest was Donald Allen, 89, who said he was ‘most looking forward’ to being arrested.

The retired civil servant said: ‘I hope they don’t take me to Charing Cross police station after what has been revealed this week by the BBC. But other than that I don’t care.

‘I have my medication. The police have been wonderful.’

Hilary Callam, 83, from Hampton Court, west London, said she ‘didn’t care’ about the prospect of being arrested for the first time in her life.

Despite admitting to being in ‘two minds’ as to whether to attend the gathering given the week’s events, she added she would not rule out coming back.

On Friday, Met chief Sir Mark Rowley called on organisers Defend our Juries to cancel today’s event, saying that it would divert officers who would otherwise be deployed to protect communities.

Two people were killed and others seriously injured after a man Jihad Al-Shamie drove into Heaton Park Hebrew Jewish Congregation in Crumpsall on Yom Kippur.

Officers have arrested six people in connection with the terror attack, as police presence has been stepped up outside synagogues across the country.

The Prime Minister had also asked protesters to ‘respect the grief of Jewish people’ by postponing planned action this weekend.

‘This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together’, he said.

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