London, Thanasis Gavos

The atmosphere is tense in London ahead of next Saturday’s planned new demonstration in favor of the Palestinian people in the city centre, with the Daily Telegraph revealing a central role in the organization by a former Hamas official.

It will be the fifth consecutive Saturday of a march or rally in the British capital for the cause, with previous ones drawing up to 100,000 people each according to police or even 300,000 according to organizers.

The peculiarity of the new demonstration lies in the fact that it is planned for November 11, when Britain also celebrates Armistice Day, that is, the anniversary of the end of the First World War. The following day, Sunday the 12th of the month, the annual Remembrance Sunday service will take place at the Cenotaph outside Downing Street, with King Charles officiating.

Politicians, war veterans, columnists and civic groups have characterized as “disrespect” the holding of a demonstration on such a day of commemoration and historical significance for Britain.

The Metropolitan Police has pleaded with organizers to cancel the march on the day, although it has not ordered it to be canceled as it is not believed to meet the strict legal criteria for doing so. “Please review urgently. There should not be any demonstrations in London this weekend,” was the message from Scotland Yard Deputy Commander Aid Adelekan to the organisers.

As the Telegraph writes, the head of one of the six pro-Palestinian organizations in Britain organizing Saturday’s demonstration is a former Hamas leader.

This is 62-year-old Muhammad Qassem Savuala, the former head of Hamas in the West Bank in the 1980s, who allegedly masterminded the organization’s military strategy, with involvement until 2019. Until 2017, he was a member of Hamas’ political bureau. . In recent years he has been living in council housing in north London and has founded the Muslim League of Britain. He was the head of the Association until 2007, while now the vice president of the organization is believed to be his son.

The British newspaper’s report adds that half of the organizations planning Saturday’s march have some form of ties to Hamas.

During the previous four protests against the Israeli bombings in London there have been limited clashes with the police. Several dozen arrests were made, mainly for disturbing public order, but also for offenses of incitement to hatred and violence or clear support for Hamas, an organization that has been officially designated as a terrorist organization in Britain.

The Metropolitan Police has asked the government for clearer guidance on how to deal with some controversial slogans, notably one that says “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free”, which some consider highly anti-Semitic.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, responsible for the protection of citizens, did not hesitate to call the pro-Palestine demonstrations “hate marches”, receiving fierce criticism even from Conservative politicians that she herself was inciting the tension.