Woman ‘sexually harassed’ at pro-Palestinian protest

It is alleged that a woman was sexually assaulted during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in central London.

Scotland Yard is appealing for witnesses to the incident, which occurred outside a bureau de change on Coventry Street in Westminster at around 2.50pm on 18 May.

A 69-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse but has since been released on bail pending further investigations.

According to investigators, the suspect was believed to be wearing a light blue shirt and a dark blue zip-up jacket. He was described as bald, clean-shaven and wearing thick black glasses.

The alleged attack occurred as thousands of pro-Palestinian supporters marched through the streets of central London calling for a ceasefire.

During the protest, one man chanted the slogan “Intifada revolution,” climbed a traffic light and set off a red smoke bomb, while another carried a fake coffin with offensive words written on it. Both men were arrested.

The march took place on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the “Nakba” – the word means “catastrophe” and is used by Palestinians to describe the events surrounding the founding of the State of Israel.

Many demonstrators carried large images of keys, which are seen as a symbol of the property left behind in 1948.

The authorities allowed the main demonstration to pass just a few meters past a static counter-demonstration of several hundred people at Piccadilly Circus.

The counter-demonstration, organized by the organization “Enough Is Enough,” was intended, among other things, to draw attention to what the demonstrators said was inadequate police prosecution of the “repeated” hate crimes during the pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place weekly since the Hamas massacres on October 7.

Before the protests, the Metropolitan Police had stated that it only had the power to ban demonstrations if there was a risk of serious unrest.