Rishi Sunak pledges support for Israel’s ‘absolute right to defend itself’ and tells UK’s Jewish community he is ‘with them’ as pro-Palestinian protesters march in London and Newcastle
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Rishi Sunak is pledging his support for Israel’s ‘absolute right to defend itself’ and has told Britain’s Jewish community that he is ‘with them’ as pro-Palestinian protesters march in London and Newcastle.
The Prime Minister today expressed his solidarity with the Jewish community and said he would work to make sure they felt safe after the devastating attacks in Israel. It comes after Downing Street was illuminated with the Israeli flag last night.
Mr Sunak was due to address the events during a speech this evening after a Jewish charity in Britain said it had seen an increase in antisemitic attacks and as police forces stepped up patrols around the country.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it would increase the number of police officers on the streets across Britain’s capital to ‘reassure and protect communities.’ The Greater Manchester Police force in northern England also said it had stepped up the protection of communities amid the conflict.
At least 700 people are feared to have been killed in Israel and more than 400 in Gaza, after the terrorist group launched its surprise assault – slaughtering citizens and taking hostages.
Rishi Sunak is pledging his support for Israel’s ‘absolute right to defend itself’ and has told Britain’s Jewish community that he is ‘with them’ as pro-Palestinian protesters march in London and Newcastle
The Israeli military said it had called up 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, signalling it could be planning a major ground assault. Pictured: Rockets are fired from Gaza towards Israel, in Gaza on Monday
At least 700 people are feared to have been killed in Israel and more than 400 in Gaza, after the terrorist group launched its surprise assault – slaughtering citizens and taking hostages. Pictured: Israeli firefighters put out the fire on a car hit by a missile launched from Gaza, in Sderot, near the border with Gaza, southern Israel, on Monday
The Prime Minister today expressed his solidarity with the Jewish community and said he would work to make sure they felt safe after the devastating attacks in Israel. It comes after Downing Street was illuminated with the Israeli flag last night (pictured)
Mr Sunak is expected declare his support for Israel’s ‘right to defend itself and to deter further incursions’ in his speech tonight.
‘Last night we flew the Israeli flag over Number 10 to show our solidarity with the people of Israel and our utter condemnation of the horrific violence that Hamas unleashed over the weekend,’ he is expected to say in a speech at the Future Resilience Forum, according to his office.
‘On Saturday morning terrorists crossed into Israel intent on murder and kidnap. Whole families were killed. Women, children and the elderly were taken hostage.
‘Innocent teenagers at a festival of peace were gunned down in cold blood and the sickening evidence posted online.
‘It is inhuman – and it will not stand. Terrorism will not prevail. Israel has the absolute right to defend itself and to deter further incursions.’
He also issued a message to the Jewish communities in the UK, saying ‘I am with you’. The Prime Minister also affirmed that the Government is ‘taking the necessary steps to ensure that you feel safe’.
It comes as hundreds of protesters have filled the streets outside the Israeli Embassy in London chanting ‘free Palestine’ and lighting flares.
There were reports of fireworks being launched on Kensington high street and people unable to push through heaving crowds, as parts of the Israel embassy were boarded up.
Hundreds gathered in Kensington on Monday afternoon, chanting ‘Israel is a terrorist state’ and ‘Allahu akhbar’, with stalls set up touting ‘Free Palestine’ merchandise in the popular shopping district.
Earlier in the evening, large groups of police officers watched on as placards calling for Israel to ‘end the occupation’ were waved, but their presence appeared to subside as the busy area was taken over by a wave of protesters.
Meanwhile, Israelis have gathered outside Downing Street to hold a vigil for the victims and hostages taken by Hamas after the terror group launched its violent assault over the Gaza border on Saturday.
Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside the Israel Embassy in London chanting ‘free free Palestine ‘ and lighting flairs
Makeshift stalls were set up touting ‘Free Palestine’ merchandise in the popular shopping district
Protesters set off red and green flares
Smoke fills the air as protesters gather on the busy shopping street in west London
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and held up placards near the Israeli Embassy
There was a significant police presence in the Royal borough throughout the evening
One pro-Palestine protester, Mosibur Rahman Ullah, 53, said the situation in Gaza has ‘reached boiling point’ after ’75 years of Israeli oppression’ of Palestinians.
In reference to Hamas militant’s acts of terror on members of the Israeli population, he said: ‘Sometimes you have to fight, freedom isn’t won just by words.’
He added that ‘the diplomatic means at the hands of Palestinians just hasn’t worked, so these are the steps they have had to take’.
READ MORE: Hundreds of Palestinian supporters dance, light flares and chant in the street outside Israel’s embassy in London as Israelis gather outside Downing Street to hold a vigil for the dead
One protester condemned Hamas’ attack, saying ‘what we want is peace’, but said that ‘what has been happening with Palestine throughout so, so many years cannot continue to happen. It is just a retaliation [to that].’
As the evening went on, anger turned into jubilation among some of the pro-Palestine protesters, with music blaring and flags waving.
It comes as Suella Braverman urged police forces across the country to step up patrols to prevent anti-Jewish disorder and violence.
‘We are doing everything we can to keep people safe and ensure they feel reassured by our presence,’ Manchester Superintendent Rachael Harrison said in a statement.
Boards of wood and gates were placed around the entrance to the Israeli embassy earlier on Monday.
Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the groups behind the demonstration, said in a statement: ‘The offensive launched from Gaza can only be understood in the context of Israel’s ongoing, decades long, military occupation and colonisation of Palestinian land and imposition of a system of oppression that meets the legal definition of apartheid.
‘This is the context in which we need to understand the cycle of violence. If violence is to end, both that of the oppressor and the oppressed, then we must all take action to end the root cause – Israeli apartheid and oppression of Palestinians.’
Israelis gathered outside Downing Street tonight to fly their country’s flag amid Hamas’ unprecedented assault
Attendees at the vigil held up placards saying ‘I stand with Israel’
People take part in a ‘Vigil for Israel’ opposite the entrance to Downing Street on Monday
Israel has been rocked by the attacks that started on Saturday when fighters from the Islamist group Hamas killed hundreds of Israelis and abducted dozens, the deadliest such incursion in decades, prompting Israel to retaliate by pounding the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had called up 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, signalling it could be planning a major ground assault.
At least 700 people are feared to have been killed in Israel and more than 400 in Gaza, after the terrorist group launched its surprise assault – slaughtering citizens and taking hostages.
Among the dead was 20-year-old Nathanel Young, a Briton serving in the Israeli Defence Services who died at the Gaza border on Saturday.
In Britain, the Jewish advisory body, the Community Security Trust (CST), said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it had seen incidents of what it called ‘racist anti-Semitism against Jewish people’ since Saturday.
Israel has intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip after declaring war and vowing to destroy the ‘military and governing capabilities’ of Hamas.
Rishi Sunak will convene the emergency committee as the death toll rises in the aftermath of the bloody attacks by Hamas
Shocking footage from the aftermath of the attack shows festival tents empty, with abandoned cars of those trying to escape strewn on the side of the road
A missile explodes over Gaza City last night as Israel carries out airstrikes following Hamas’ attack
Mr Sunak said that the UK was in ‘close dialogue’ with Israel over any support it needed, after holding a phone call with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
‘We already have a very long-standing relationship with Israel, we’re one of their strongest allies.
‘We’ve provided in the past the kinds of equipment that they’ve used to defend themselves over the past couple of days.
‘And as I said to the Prime Minister, we will continue to provide – whether that’s diplomatic, intelligence or security support – as they need.
‘I’m chairing a Cobra with my ministerial colleagues this afternoon, when we’ll continue to discuss the situation, but we’re in close dialogue with our Israeli counterparts’, he told a business event in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Two other UK nationals – 26-year-old Jake Marlowe, who went to the same London school as Mr Young, and photographer Dan Darlington – are believed to be missing.
The Government is helping the families of several individuals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it is understood.
The Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to the region due to the conflict.
Mr Sunak said it is a ‘complex’ situation, as he acknowledged many will have concerns about family members caught up in the conflict.
‘I know it will be an anxious time for many families who have loved ones in the region,’ he said.
‘It’s a quite complex situation on the ground, so we are working very closely with our Israeli counterparts to establish the status of any British nationals on the ground.
‘That work is under way as we speak.’
Mr Young, a former pupil at JFS Jewish School in north London, died after a surprise attack by Palestinian militants caught Israel off-guard on a major holiday.
His loved ones said they are ‘heartbroken’, while the father of Mr Darlington said he believes his son, who was visiting from his home in Berlin, Germany, is missing.
Footage showed hostages apparently being taken by Hamas militants into Gaza over the weekend
A woman in Tel Aviv picks her way through rubble late on Saturday
Mr Marlowe was reported missing while providing security at a music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, close to the Gaza border.
It comes as Communities minister Lee Rowley warned any potential protesters not to ‘glorify’ the violence of Hamas.
On Monday, Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves also condemned the attack
She told Times Radio: ‘Israel has been attacked by terrorists. It has every right to defend itself, get its hostages back and protect its citizens.’
Israel’s defence minister has ordered a ‘complete siege’ on the Gaza Strip, saying authorities will cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel.
Authorities in Israel are said to be in ‘control’ of the border communities, with no fighting going on as of mid-morning on Monday.
All UK Government buildings were asked to light up in Israeli blue and white on Sunday evening, with the country’s flag projected on to the outside of No 10 in a show of support.
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