Nine arrests as police remove banner calling for 'global intifada' from London building

 (Google Maps)
(Google Maps)

Nine people have been arrested after a banner calling for a “global intifada” was draped over a building in central London.

The Met said that it had removed the banner, which said “globalise the intifada”, after it was hung from the window of a building in Park Square near Regent’s Park on Tuesday morning.

Pictures of the banner were posted on social media alongside calls for the police to take action.

In a statement, the Met said that nine people had been arrested under Section 18 of the Public Order Act.

They added: “Officers have now secured the property which was being used by squatters.

“We will continue to have a presence in the area to respond to any further incidents.”

The use of “intifada” has caused controversy in recent weeks during protests against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in response to the brutal Hamas terror attacks of October 7.

The word literally means “shaking” off in Arabic and is understood in a Palestinian context to mean a civil uprising.

It also refers to two periods of violent uprisings of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip against Israel that took place in the 1990s and 2000s. The campaigns included knife attacks on Israeli civilians and suicide bombings.

Violence during the second intifada is estimated to have resulted in the deaths of approximately 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis, according to Jerusalem-based non-profit B'Tselem.

Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman previously told reporters that it is “not acceptable” for people to call for intifada.

On October 30 he said: “Obviously that’s not acceptable and people need to think extremely carefully about the impact of their actions following a traumatic terror event which saw more than 1,000 people killed (a reference to Hamas fighters’ incursion into Israel on October 7).”

Dave Rich, the Community Security Trust’s director of policy, praised the Met for taking swift action.

He wrote on his personal account on Twitter: ”Swift, forceful action, an inflammatory banner removed and arrests made – exactly how it should be.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism posted a photo of the banner on Twitter, with the caption: “We have been contacted by distressed members of the public regarding a banner calling to 'globalise the intifada.

“This was seen this morning on a home in Regent's Park. Past intifadas were campaigns of violence that included suicide bombings.”