Police arrested at least 14 people at protests outside the Great Israeli Real Estate event in London on Sunday [PYM]
What began as a protest against the sale of homes in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank ended with activists pinned to the ground by police, allegations of excessive force, and accusations that officers targeted those opposing the event rather than those who instigated the violence.
Campaigners who gathered outside the controversial Great Israeli Real Estate event in northwest London on Sunday said they were met with a heavy-handed police response after clashes broke out between pro-Palestine demonstrators and Zionist counterprotesters.
Video footage seen by The New Arab appears to show several Metropolitan Police officers restraining protesters on the ground, with one activist pinned down while officers pressed an arm into his throat.
For some of those present, the scenes carried uncomfortable echoes of the violence they had travelled to Palestine to document.
“A comrade who had just been on a protective presence trip to the West Bank noted it felt like the Met police were using Israeli [army] tactics, by targeting peaceful protesters and not the instigators of the violence, who were the Zionist counter-protesters,” Leora, a member of Jewish Anti-Zionist Action who attended the demonstration, told The New Arab.
Hundreds of people had gathered outside the Edgware United Synagogue to oppose an event promoting properties in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Despite repeated calls for the event to be cancelled, including by leading rights group Amnesty International, it went ahead as planned, with organisers inviting attendees to find their “dream home” and register interest in properties in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, which the UK government considers illegal under international law.
Police used ‘excessive force’
Leora, who did not provide her surname due to fears of being doxxed, said trouble began before her group had even reached the protest.
At around 11.30 am, she was walking with around 20 other Jewish anti-Zionist activists along Edgware Way when they encountered a group of Zionists wearing balaclavas and black clothing.
She said members of her group were “roughed up”, with the violence escalating as activists attempted to de-escalate the situation.
“Before we even got to the protest, a group of us from Jewish Anti-Zionist Action were targeted and assaulted by Zionists. When the police intervened, they violently assaulted and arrested two members of our group,” she said.
According to Leora, officers used excessive force during the arrests. She said that protesters were thrown to the ground, punched, and had officers kneel on their heads.
The Metropolitan Police later confirmed that 14 arrests had been made during the operation involving both protesters and counterprotesters.
Earlier in the day, police announced that additional officers had been deployed in anticipation of around 1,000 demonstrators gathering in the area.
The New Arab contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment on allegations of excessive force and disproportionate policing during the protest.
A total of 14 arrests (correction from earlier 15) were made during today’s policing operation:
Five for violent disorder (one person also arrested for assault on an emergency worker)
Six for Section 4a Public Order Act offences (four of those for racial/religiously aggravated…— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 14, 2026
The confrontation unfolded amid growing anger over the normalisation of Israeli settlement expansion through overseas property fairs.
The event was viewed as a public promotion of illegal settlements built on occupied Palestinian land at a time when Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank continue to face war, displacement and military occupation.
Journalists and protesters targeted
Kitty Grant, a journalist for The New Arab who was present throughout the demonstration, said tensions were already visible when she arrived shortly after 11.20am.
“There were already many protesters from both sides present, and I could immediately hear Zionist counterprotesters shouting at activists,” she said. “They crossed the road, jumping over the barrier between lanes to get to us.”
Grant said counterprotesters shoved demonstrators and that journalists were also targeted.
“One man shoved me and tried to take my phone,” she said.
Activists opposing the event were singing well-known Hebrew peace songs when they were met with chants including “Jew hater” and “racist scum”.
Footage seen by The New Arab also showed counterprotesters grabbing and tearing away a large banner carried by activists.
‘The police pinned down those who were attacked’
Yet it was the police response that left the deepest impression on many of those present.
“Once the violence started the police came over pretty quickly and started arresting people from both sides, but they were pinning the pro-Palestine protesters who had been attacked down, and I didn’t see them do anything like that to the Zionist protesters who started the aggression,” Grant said.
“Eventually, when people had been arrested and things had calmed down, the police escorted the pro-Palestine protesters to the designated protest area.”
Leora described the operation as “completely disproportionate and violent” and said she was left emotionally distraught by what she witnessed.
The scenes have renewed criticism of restrictions on Palestine solidarity protests in Britain, with campaigners arguing that people opposing Israeli occupation and settlement expansion increasingly face aggressive policing.
Right to protest
“As Jews, we wholeheartedly refuse to have these crimes be committed in our name and by protesting stand in the long-held Jewish tradition of Tzedek (justice) and tikum olam (repairing the world),” Leora said. “Our places of worship are for exactly that, worship, and never for Zionist land sales.”
Charli Thompson, a Green Party councillor for Barnet, the borough where the Edgware United Synagogue is located, said the arrests raised wider concerns about the right to protest.
“The right to peaceful protest is a cornerstone of democracy. At a time when people are witnessing immense suffering in Gaza and growing evidence of violations of international law, it is entirely understandable that people feel compelled to speak out. Any restrictions on peaceful protest must be subject to the highest level of scrutiny,” she said.
“I would argue that citizens have a moral responsibility to speak out when they believe serious injustices are taking place…at a time when Palestinians are facing displacement, military occupation and catastrophic loss of life in Gaza and the West Bank, hosting an event that appears to market or profit from that reality sends a profoundly disturbing message.”
Oscar Leyens, an organiser with the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, said the event itself should never have been allowed to proceed.
“The event should never have taken place. That it was hosted by a synagogue only emphasises the continued way Judaism is being cynically deployed to provide cover for those profiting from genocide and theft of land from the Palestinian people.”
“For myself and the many Jewish people who protested this event, we are disgusted that the hosts, organisers, and attendees have betrayed our history of resistance to racism and persecution. I’m proud we upheld our best traditions by opposing this disgraceful event.”
