UK Home Secretary bans Al-Quds march in London after Met Police request | US-Israel war over Iran news

The Metropolitan Police sought a ban, citing risks of public disorder, but organizers decided to stage a static protest instead.

The United Kingdom has banned this year’s Al-Quds Day parade in London, an event that has been held for 40 years, with the government citing risks of public disorder related to the “volatile situation in the Middle East” and potential clashes between rival protesters.

Protest marches were banned for the first time since 2012, when authorities blocked marches by the far-right English Defense League.

The Metropolitan Police sought the Al-Quds Day ban, which was approved by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which is organizing the protest, condemned the decision and said it would be legally challenged.

It said that the steady protest will continue on Sunday as well.

The group claimed the police had “succumbed to pressure from the Zionist lobby” and rejected accusations that it supported the Iranian government, saying it was an independent non-governmental organization.

The ban will begin on Wednesday at 16:00 GMT and will last for one month. This applies to Sunday’s planned al-Quds march and related protests.

Al-Quds Day is an international annual event held every year on the last Friday of Ramadan, in which rallies are held to express support for Palestine and oppose the Israeli occupation of its territories.

Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini established Al-Quds Day in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution.

Iran’s critics say it uses the march to advance its political interests.

Ade Adelekan, the Met’s principal assistant commissioner for public order, said, “The threshold for banning protest is high, and we do not take this decision lightly; this is the first time we have used this power since 2012.”

Adelekan said police believed the march would present “unique risks and challenges”, citing the expected number of demonstrators and counter-demonstrators and “intense tensions between different factions”.

He also referred to concerns raised by security services about the crisis in the Middle East and Iranian state activity in the UK.

The Met said the situation was “extremely complex and the risks so severe” that imposing conditions on the march would not be enough to prevent potential disorder or violence.

A ‘fixed protest’ is planned

Mahmoud said he approved the ban after deciding it was necessary to prevent serious illness.

Although the march was banned, the police said they did not have the legal authority to ban static assembly. Authorities impose strict conditions for any standing protest.

Officials warned that anyone attempting to organize or join the banned march could face arrest, adding that police operations in central London would be stepped up over the weekend.