Pro-Palestine protesters in Leicester chant ‘Israel is a terror state’ as demonstrators ramp up demands for ceasefire
PRO-PALESTINE protesters have accused Israel of being a “terror state” during a protest calling for a ceasefire.
The protest took place outside Leicester Town Hall this afternoon when the crowd called for a “ceasefire now.”
Footage was posted on Twitter showing the crowd chanting: “1234, occupation no more. 5678 Israel is a terror state.”
The footage was posted by the Friends of Al Aqsa, an organisation claiming to campaign for “freedom and justice in Palestine.”
The footage emerged after police in London launched an investigation into claims activists shouted the offensive chants in a busy carriage while on their way to a mass gathering in London yesterday.
Social media footage shows one activist on the Tube banging a drum while another leads the chant: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
“There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”
In another video they sing: “Smash the Zionist settler state”.
Community leaders say the “river to the sea” chant is a call for Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, to be wiped from the map.
British Transport Police said they were aware of the footage showing chanting on a Tube train and were investigating but no arrests have been made.
A spokesman said: “Abuse, intimidation or violence, especially that which is religiously motivated, will never be tolerated and our officers will take robust action against those who seek to cause harm or spread hate.
“We have enhanced our patrols across the network and are calling for anybody who witnesses or experiences hate crime or any other threatening or concerning behaviour to report it to us so we can take immediate action.”
In London, police arrested 11 people as huge crowds gathered to demand that Israel declare a ceasefire in its war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
One activist was held under the Terrorism Act for carrying a hateful placard in Piccadilly Circus.
Another was detained for breaching the Public Order Act while another was held for assaulting a police officer.
All three were taken to central London police stations.
One vile poster held up at Trafalgar Square made reference to the bulldozer that took down a fence at the Israeli border before the October 7 terrorist attacks.
Another spotted at Charing Cross station featured a Nazi swastika alongside the Israeli flag.
Last night police imposed a Section 35 Dispersal Order to get rid of protesters at Trafalgar Square they said were firing fireworks into crowds and towards officers.
Planned marches next weekend threaten to disrupt Remembrance services with the PM calling them “provocative and disrespectful”.
Leaflets were distributed urging people to join a series of sit-in demonstrations at major London rail stations next Saturday, which could cause travel disruption for veterans coming to the capital to pay their respects.
Meanwhile, flags from the Cenotaph in Whitehall have been removed.