Over 500 officers are set to be deployed in London this afternoon to police two large-scale demonstrations, the Metropolitan Police has said.
The larger of the two protests, organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, is pro-Palestine, and takes place on the final Friday of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
The second demonstration is a pro-Israel counter-protest, a "static demonstration" set to be carried out in Parliament Square.
The pro-Palestine protest is a march down Whitehall past the Houses of Parliament - and the nearby pro-Israel demonstration - which is set to culminate in an "assembly and speeches" next to the Cenotaph.
The Met said it had been in discussion with the organisers of both demonstrations to "set out our expectations" and "to remind them of the important role that we expect them to play, alongside their own stewards, in managing their demonstrations".
Over 500 officers are set to be deployed in London this afternoonGettyA police statement continued: "As we have done ahead of other protests in recent months, we will be distributing leaflets clearly setting out what is acceptable and what is not so that there can be no doubt about what constitutes a criminal offence."
The service has imposed conditions under the Public Order Act for both demonstrations, and have told protesters on both sides to stick to pre-agreed routes and areas.
Commander Colin Wingrove, in charge of the operation, said: "The conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to have a far reaching impact across communities including here in London.
"We recognise that there will be some who feel this march should not be allowed to take place at all.
MORE PROTEST NEWS:
Police told participants in the pro-Palestine Al Quds Day march to stick to the pre-agreed route marked in red
Met Police/PA/Getty
"We work to the law. Parliament has determined that there are only very rare and specific circumstances when an application can be made to the Home Secretary for a protest to be banned.
"It requires a real risk of serious disorder and neither the intelligence picture nor the conversations we have had with organisers give us reason to believe that threshold will be met today.
"The rights of people to express their views through protest must be protected and our officers will ensure they are, but anyone who abuses those rights and uses them as an opportunity to commit offences or to promote hate can expect to face police action.
"We have set out our expectations clearly in discussions with the organisers of both demonstrations. We expect them to manage their events and we expect participants to remain within the law.
The pro-Palestine protest is set to culminate next to the Cenotaph, and will march past Parliament Square's pro-Israel demonstration
PA/Wikimedia Commons
"If they do not, officers will act positively to intervene, to investigate and to deal with allegations.
"There have been a number of instances at protests in recent months where actions have taken place that are distasteful to many, but that don’t cross the line into criminality.
"Our role is to police without fear or favour right up to the line of the law, but our powers do not extend to policing taste and decency, no matter our view of what is being said.
"Where that line into criminality is crossed, we will step in. Anyone seen to be supporting a proscribed group, using hate speech, trying to directly interfere with the other protest or committing other offences will be dealt with by officers."
