From the Telegraph
Thousands of people waving Palestinian flags gathered in central London on the same day two Jewish worshippers were killed and three others injured in the car and knife attack. They were responding to an earlier call to protest against the arrest of Greta Thunberg.
Videos of the London protest show three police vans and scores of officers at the scene, some scuffling with demonstrators.
Another clip showed demonstrators in Leeds shouting “death, death to the IDF”.
Posters shared on social media urged pro-Palestinian activists to converge on 19 locations around the UK between 5.30pm and 6pm on Thursday. Most of them were major railway station.
Among the locations where protesters were urged to gather included Parliament Square in London, Cardiff Central, Sheffield railway station, Farnborough station in Surrey, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Lime Street.
A pro-Palestinian campaigner in Westminster said today’s terror attack pales in comparison to the plight of Greta Thunberg’s flotilla.
Fiona Smith, 42, told The Telegraph: “I don’t give a f— about the Jewish community right now. I thought about it and I’m sorry about what happened, but the whole story and why we’re here is because of what happened yesterday [with the flotilla].”
Justin Alintoff, 26, a tourist from New York who became caught up in the protest, said the sentiment was sad to see but unsurprising.
He said: “I think the problem is, when you ask the protesters here about the attack, they say, ‘It shouldn’t have happened, but…’
“But I don’t think there should be a ‘but’ after any terrorist attack, especially one which kills people that are trying to worship in peace.
“And so, I think it’s sad. It’s a shame. And unfortunately, it’s a part of Jewish history that we’ve been oppressed, we’ve been attacked. I’m from New York, and from those who I’ve spoken to, I’ve heard that people are extremely concerned and threatened in London.”
Video from LBC of the violence in Whitehall here
Scuffles also broke out at a pro-Palestinian march in the centre of Manchester. Earlier in the day, police said they would allow a protest to go ahead at a Manchester Piccadilly railway station just hours after the synagogue attack.
British Transport Police (BTP) said they would “facilitate peaceful protest” but warned officers would intervene if protesters tried to gain access to the station.
…Among the critics was Nick Voss, 49, who said: “After what’s happened today, this should have been cancelled out of respect. I know that they are on an opposing side, but I think it should have been cancelled. We all have a right to protest but these guys aren’t respectful. As far as I’m concerned, they’re terror supporters and far-Left communists and they disgust me to my absolute core.”
He added: “It was upsetting to see what happened in Heaton Park, I know a couple of people who were nearby when it happened and they’re shocked. I’ve come today to stand against this protest and I’ll do it every single week.”
Meanwhile, Defend Our Juries, which has been leading pro-Palestine demonstrations in recent weeks, has refused to postpone its protest in London this weekend. The event, set to be held in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, aims to be “the biggest ever mass action yet defying the ban on Palestine Action”, the group said.
Earlier Police have confirmed the name of the suspect shot dead after a fatal terror attack at a Manchester synagogue. From the Manchester Evening News
In an update on Thursday evening, Counter Terror Policing said: “We are now able to confirm that, although formal identification is yet to take place, we believe the person responsible for today’s attacks is 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie. (you couldn’t make it up could you?)
The force added that three suspects – two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s – are currently in custody and have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
The force added: “We are working to understand the motivation behind the attack as the investigation continues.”
According to Israeli newspaper Ynet News Al-Shamie originated in Syria (I refuse to call him, as some websites are, ‘British-Syrian) entered Britain as a child and received British citizenship in 2006.
