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London synagogue protest
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in London outside the Edgware United Synagogue to condemn the “Great Israeli Real Estate Event,” which protesters said promoted the sale of land and properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Jeanine Hourani, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement, told Al Jazeera at the rally, “We’re here today protesting as Palestinians living in London, [to say] that we refuse the selling of our lands, our homelands,” and she added, “We know that what is happening today is illegal under international law.”
The Metropolitan Police said 15 people were arrested during the demonstrations “for a range of offences, including public order matters,” while BBC reported that 14 arrests were made after protests outside the synagogue where the event was being held.
The BBC said the Edgware United Synagogue was hosting The Great Israeli Real Estate Event on Sunday, and it described the event as showcasing consultants including mortgage advice, financial planning, home management and help to “find your dream home” according to its website.
Arrests, slogans, and policing
Tense confrontations unfolded as protesters waved Palestine flags and counter-protesters waved Israel flags, with the BBC describing footage shared on social media showing angry confrontations between the two sides.
The BBC reported that the Metropolitan Police Commander Adam Slonecki said the force was mindful of “heightened fear and concern following two-and-a-half years of sustained protest and, in recent months, a series of arsons and other attacks,” and it said the Met deployed officers to prevent serious disruption.
In a separate account, Al Jazeera said a large group of pro-Israel counter-protesters rallied in support of the event, with some shouting, “Palestine doesn’t exist,” as dozens of police officers were deployed to the demonstration.
Al Jazeera also reported that the event was organised by the My Home in Israel real estate agency, while the BBC said the Board of Deputies of British Jews was “deeply disturbed” at the “wholly unjustified” demonstration.
MP pressure and legal debate
British lawmakers and human rights groups urged the British government to stop the event, with Al Jazeera saying nearly 100 British legislators, including members of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, signed a letter urging the government to “uphold its obligations under international law” and ensure the event “promoting illegal activities does not proceed.”
Layla Moran, the first British MP of Palestinian descent and one of the letter’s signatories, told Al Jazeera, “It is a stain on the British public and the international rule of law that this event has been allowed to go ahead today,” and she said the Metropolitan Police should have stopped it.
The BBC reported that the Palestinian Youth Movement said more than 100 parliamentarians and human rights organisations had condemned the “criminal event,” and it quoted Amnesty International describing it as “one of a series of international roadshows targeting diaspora communities, normalising illegal settlements by marketing them alongside properties in mainstream Israeli cities”.
Al Jazeera added that a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the outlet that “we have been clear that we completely oppose the advertisement of property for sale in illegal settlements,” and it cited UK Government updated advice on June 9 warning businesses of “reputational and potentially legal consequences” for such activities.
