“Hamas is terrorist.” That’s the official position of the British government⸺although from recent events, you wouldn’t know it.
On Saturday, September 7th, two protestors unveiled a banner bearing the same slogan, summarising the legal position of the organisation—which is proscribed under UK law—in front of one of London’s regular “pro-Palestine” demonstrations. The duo was separated and both campaigners were detained and charged separately.
Mark Birbeck, a co-founder of Our Fight, which campaigns in support of Israel, emerged from the cells on Sunday morning. His bail conditions include him not contacting co-demonstrator Niyak Ghorbanii, not attending Middle East-focused protests for three months, and not entering the City of Westminster borough in London during any protests related to Israel.
Birbeck told The European Conservative:
It’s incredible that despite Hamas being a proscribed organisation, pointing it out has such an impact. But we know why; whether you are David Lammy or Ben Jamal or Jeremy Corbyn or a marcher calling for a ceasefire, it spoils your narrative to be reminded that Hamas started this war, executes hostages in tunnels under Gaza, and wants to destroy the only Jewish state. And that’s of course why myself, Niyak and many others will continue to shout about this.
Back in October 2023, then-Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland criticised London’s Metropolitan Police for its indulgence of anti-Israel protests, including initial celebrations of the October 7th pogrom staged prior to any Israeli response. He stated, “The police must step in and enforce the law”. Almost one year on, the Met’s assistant commissioner Matt Twist has admitted that mistakes were made, fuelling the perception of ‘two-tier policing’ on London’s streets. As if to prove the point, Birbeck left Wood Green police station facing Orwellian ‘pre-charges’ based on the possibility he will break his bail conditions in future.
Gideon Falter, Chief Executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, tweeted:
We live in a country where you can hold up a sign saying that Jews control politics but be arrested for holding a sign saying that Hamas is a terrorist organisation (which is simply stating the law of the land) because it offends people.
Licence-fee payers to the UK national broadcaster are unlikely to find it covering these arrests. While the Metropolitan Police shields Hamas supporters from hurt feelings, the BBC has been slammed for doing all this, and more, in its “sickening” coverage of Gaza. Using artificial intelligence, content analysis and a dedicated research team, the Asserson Report has identified a total of 1,553 breaches of BBC editorial guidelines. These include issues of impartiality, accuracy, editorial values, and public interest, on both BBC English language news and its Arabic language service.
Just one example: since October 7th last year, grimly enough, Hamas has featured more often in BBC reporting as an organisation running a health ministry than as a proscribed terrorist group.