Seven individuals were taken into custody during pro-Palestinian demonstrations that took place in Scotland on Armistice Day. Police Scotland confirmed that five men and two women were arrested in separate incidents that unfolded in Glasgow city center. While largely peaceful pro-Palestinian marches were organized in cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee, Forres and Dumfries, several hundred demonstrators protested outside the main branch of Marks and Spencer located in Argyle Street. Additionally, officers deployed by British Transport Police arrested one individual in Glasgow as part of its ‘proactive policing operation’.
On the other hand, the bulk of the trouble that took place on Saturday were reported in London where around 300,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched to call for a Gaza ceasefire after the morning’s Armistice Day ceremony. According to a statement issued by the Metropolitan Police, the majority of the 126 arrests made were of counter-protesters, while nine officers were injured. Additionally, the Metropolitan Police also denounced the “extreme violence” by right-wing activists.
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has called for Home Secretary Suella Braverman to resign after the clashes that marked the protest in London. Ms. Braverman, who had previously fitted the pro-Palestinian demonstrators into the category of “hate marchers”, believed the police were biased against right-wing marches. Yousaf accused her of sparking the division’s flames and called for her position to be considered untenable.
To conclude, the pro-Palestinian protests in Scotland appeared less turbulent, with only seven arrests being made, as compared to the London protests which saw highly aggressive scenes of confrontation which rendered injured law enforcement officers and confiscated weapons of individuals
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