Met Police arrest 40 pro-Palestinian protesters after clashing with officers and chanting 'death to the IDF'

Pro-Palestine activists were told to converge on 19 locations around the UK between 5.30pm and 6pm today, including in central London and Manchester Piccadilly station.

The Met Police has confirmed 40 people have been arrested, six of those being for assault on police officers, while the majority were for breaching conditions.

One of those protesting in London was Fiona Smith, who said she didn't give a "f*** about the Jewish community."

Ms 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]."

Sibilla Todaro, 39, who lives in London, added: "None of us are against the Jewish community, we’re against Zionism.

"There’s a lot of Jewish people here with us protesting, which clearly means they condemn what happened today as well as they support this. They’re not mutually exclusive."

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On Thursday morning, an attacker drove into Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue and stabbed several people in front of the building in Middleton Road, Crumpsall, Greater Manchester, on Thursday morning, killing two people and injuring four others.

Seven minutes after police were called to the scene at 9.31am, the terrorist had been shot dead.

In an update around 9.30pm, Greater Manchester Police named the terror suspect as Jihad Al-Shamie, a 35-year-old of Syrian descent who was given British citizenship in 2006.

Greater Manchester Police said three suspects are currently in custody and have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.

They have been identified as two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s.

In London, outside the gates of Downing Street on Whitehall, protesters could be seen shoving Met Police officers.

Co-director of Labour Against Antisemitism Alex Hearn said: "These so-called ‘pro-Palestinian’ marches have been characterised by anti-Jewish racism in placards, slogans and speeches.

"To go ahead with one in Manchester just days after a deadly attack against the Jewish community, there is not just tone deaf, they list a proscribed terrorist group as a supporter.

"Like the celebratory rallies organised on October 7, this march is an unacceptable state of affairs that needs to be stopped for the public order."

New Scotland Yard had called for a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action to be postponed so resources could be used to protect Jewish and Muslim communities.

Defend Our Juries, which has been organising the protests in London, told The Guardian it intended to go ahead with its action on Saturday.

A spokesman for the group urged the police to focus on protecting those communities, fearing reprisals or follow-up terror attacks.

They said: "We urge you to choose to prioritise protecting the community rather than arresting those peacefully holding signs in opposition to the absurd and draconian ban of a domestic direct action group."

Around five miles away from where the attack took place, hundreds of activists assembled outside Manchester Piccadilly Station before marching towards Piccadilly Gardens, waving Palestinian flags, banging drums and chanting.

One banner carried by protesters also read: "Israel is guilty of genocide, massacre, ethnic cleansing of Palestinian children and babies."

Protesters had urged people to protest in Cardiff Central, Sheffield Railway Station, Farnborough Station in Surrey, and Liverpool Lime Street.

In Manchester, activists, including Steph Bike, 58, of the Stop the War Coalition, said a minute's silence held proved their respect.

She told MailOnline: "We felt it was important to condemn what happened this morning, because it's an attack on one of our communities.

"We reject anti-Semitism in all its forms. It is too early to comment, but it's likely that the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism and we oppose all attacks on any of our communities."

WATCH: Lord Fink blasts weekly ‘hate marches’ after Manchester synagogue terror attack

Speaking to GB News, Lord Fink, who grew up just minutes from the synagogue and was a member there for a decade, said Jewish communities had feared such an attack was coming.

He told Martin Daubney on GB News: "I think it is a dark day. But sadly, many of us have seen something like this coming, although I would never have predicted it would happen there, and in this way.

"With hate marches on the streets every week in every major city, I saw something was brewing."

Lord Fink added: "For our police and authorities to allow those marches every single week in the busiest parts of London is madness. I simply don’t understand why it's permitted.

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