Teenager arrested on suspicion of inviting support for Hamas in London
31 January 2024, 17:36
Police have arrested a teenager on suspicion of inviting support for Hamas after a pro-Palestine protest in north London.
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Officers arrested the woman, 19, from central London, early on Wednesday and searched an address.
She is in custody at a police station after being held for inviting support for a proscribed organisation, contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Police said it was alleged to have happened during a demonstration in Camden on October 19.
"The arrest shows the Met's continued commitment to pursuing to the fullest extent of the law allegations of support for a terrorist group," the force said in a statement.
It comes after police were pushed to do more to crack down on people who make remarks supportive of terrorism during demonstrations.
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Concerns have grown about chants such as "from the river to the sea", interpreted by many as a call to genocide against Israelis.
Some demonstrators have made calls for jihad during protests across the UK.
Demonstrations started in earnest after Israel began attacking Gaza in its bid to crush Hamas after the October 7 attack.
But there were already some supporting Hamas's massacre, which led to the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, on the streets of Western cities.
The Met's commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has previously said his officers could not "enforce taste and decency".
