Palestine protest London

Three separate protests will take place across central London this weekend, Metropolitan Police has confirmed.

A march organised under the banner ‘For the Children’ will start on Park Lane near Wellington Arch at 1pm on Saturday.

A separate static demonstration will also take place on Saturday afternoon, Kensington Road, near the Embassy of Israel in Kensington.

On Sunday, the annual Al Quds demonstration will form at Marble Arch at 2.30pm and will process up Oxford Street before culminating in a static protest on Portland Place.

The For The Children protest will start near the Duke of Wellington Arch and travel down Grosvenor Square, Victoria Street, Artillery Row and Horseferry Road.

Police have imposed restrictions under the Public Order Act on the Palestine Coalition rally in Kensington, which will last for two hours between 12.30 and 2.30pm tomorrow.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather near the Palace of Westminster (file photo). Image: Steve Eason/Flickr

Meanwhile, conditions have been imposed on the Al Quds day protest, which must end by 5.30pm on Sunday.

Previous rallies had been prevented from taking place on Saturdays on Portland Place due to its proximity to a synagogue on the Shabbat.

A counter protest, entitled Stop The Hate, has also been organised for the same time on Sunday at Oxford Circus.

Chief Inspector Stuart Bell, who is leading the policing operation this weekend, said: “The role of the police is to ensure that groups can exercise their right to peaceful protest, while also balancing the rights of those in the wider community to go about their lives without serious disruption.

“We are expecting this to be a busy weekend in London and have carefully considered the impact of the different protests, and counter protest, on communities across London.”

He added: “We are confident that appropriate measures are in place to prevent serious disruption and ensure the events takes place peacefully.

“We are in discussions with community stakeholders, representatives from relevant premises and with the organisers. Our role is to police this event, as we do other protests, without fear or favour and within the legal framework available to us.”

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