Pro-Palestine demonstrators ‘spat and spewed anti-Semitic remarks’ at counter-protesters

Demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian encampment set up outside University College London allegedly spat at a group of counter-protesters and told them to “go back to Poland” in an apparent instance of antisemitism.

UCL students have pitched tents near the main campus building to show their opposition to the institution’s position on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On Saturday, around 100 Palestinian supporters, many of whom were not students, banged drums and waved flags outside the university while chanting “free Palestine” over a megaphone.

In response, a group of around 50 Israel-supporting demonstrators, attended as part of a counter-protest.

They positioned themselves on the other side of the street to avoid a direct confrontation and more than 40 Metropolitan Police officers were on the scene with a fleet of marked police vehicles parked nearby.

Despite the police presence, a small group left the Pro-Palestinian crowd and subjected the counter-demonstrators to abuse and anti-semitic chants.

Video footage seen by The Telegraph shows a woman, not believed to be a student, holding a Palestinian scarf seemingly shouting “Long life to Hamas”.

Another clip, posted on social media, shows a man spitting on the ground in front of the counter-protesters before being moved on by police.

Jonathan Cohen KC, who attended the counter-demonstration, said: “There were members of the Palestinian protests, who were openly praising Hamas.

“We were spat at, we were told to go back to Poland.

“Anybody who thinks that the streets of London are safe for Jews is simply wrong.”

Scotland Yard said the man who had spat at the group was later arrested, along with four other people.

In relation to the video of the female protester, a spokesman said: “An investigation has been launched into this matter and enquiries are ongoing.”

Another pro-Israel protester told the Telegraph that the police response had been “entirely unequal”.

When three counter-protesters carrying signs saying “Hamas are terrorists” and holding Israeli flags walked across the street in response to the provocation, officers immediately grabbed the men.

Despite this, police allegedly allowed the pro-Palestine activists who had similarly crossed the road, to shout in the faces of the Israel supporters for several minutes.

A spokesperson for the Met said that on Saturday, officers “policed a number of protests across London”.

A total of seven arrests were made, including five at the UCL protest.

They added: “Four people – who were part of a pro-Palestine protest near a central London university – were arrested in relation to the displaying of a banner that appeared to be supporting a proscribed organisation.”

“Another man was arrested in the vicinity for a public order offence after he was seen to spit towards a counter-protest.”

Ade Adelekan, the deputy assistant commissioner said: “Our objective for [Saturday’s] policing operation was to protect the rights of everyone to protest while ensuring others were able to visit London unhindered.

“We policed a number of events across the capital, the vast majority of which passed off peacefully.

“Our response was proportionate – we engaged with protesters and intervened where crimes were committed.”

The demonstrators at UCL have been among a growing number of tent camps protesting against the war in Gaza, which have been seen at universities including Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol.

It has led to “serious” government concerns that the campus protests could escalate to the sort of scenes witnessed in the US, where pro-Palestinian protests at Ivy League universities turned violent.

A UCL spokesperson said: “We continue to have a small protest with tents on our campus. This has so far been peaceful and in line with our codes of conduct. The normal business of the university has been going ahead as usual.

“We are, however, also aware there have been protests outside our university on public streets which have been organised by external groups.”