UK police say protesters will be arrested over 'globalise the intifada' chant

British police forces have warned they will arrest protesters who display placards or chant slogans such as "globalise the intifada", signalling a further escalation in the criminalisation of pro-Palestine activism amid Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police said they would take action against protesters using the phrase, claiming it could amount to incitement and contribute to a threatening environment.

"We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as 'globalise the intifada', and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action," the police said.

"Violent acts have taken place; the context has changed. Words have meaning and consequence. We will act decisively and make arrests," the statement added, describing the measures as "practical and immediate".

The announcement comes amid an increasingly aggressive push by pro-Israel organisations and politicians to conflate solidarity with Palestine with antisemitism, despite widespread criticism from civil liberties groups and human rights advocates.

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said the police move marked a dangerous new phase in the repression of Palestinian advocacy.

"The statement by the Met and GMP marks another low in the political repression of protest for Palestinian rights," Jamal told The New Arab.

"The horrific violence that politicians now point to should not be used as a justification to strip away fundamental democratic rights or to demonise an entire movement calling for freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians."

Jamal said police had not consulted the Palestine coalition, which organises the major London demonstrations, nor representative Palestinian groups in Britain.

"We must condemn all forms of racist violence, including attacks on Jewish people. But we must also confront the systematic violence of apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide that Israel is inflicting on Palestinians, with full political backing from western governments."

The police warning follows months of political pressure on ministers to clamp down on pro-Palestine protests, particularly from organisations aligned with Israel's interests in the UK.

The pro-Israel lobby includes groups such as Conservative Friends of Israel, Labour Friends of Israel and the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM), which promote Israeli government positions through parliamentary advocacy, funded trips and media engagement.

Conservative Friends of Israel, founded in 1974, has funded more than 155 trips for MPs to Israel over the past decade and maintains close links with the Israeli embassy and Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs.

Alongside Labour Friends of Israel, it funded trips for roughly half of Keir Starmer's cabinet and at least 15 newly elected MPs before the election, with individual trips costing more than £30,000, even as Israel's genocide in Gaza was ongoing.

Other organisations, including UK Lawyers for Israel, the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies, have pursued legal complaints, public pressure campaigns and media monitoring to silence or discredit criticism of Israel.

Under this pressure, the British government has moved to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, a decision widely condemned by human rights groups as an unprecedented escalation in the criminalisation of solidarity with Palestine.

Prime Minister Starmer has repeatedly echoed claims that pro-Palestine protests risk causing distress to British Jews, previously urging demonstrators to cancel or scale back marches during Jewish holidays, while declining to impose any comparable restrictions on pro-Israel demonstrations.

At the same time, Israel's leadership has openly pressured Western governments to adopt harsher measures against Palestine solidarity movements. Israeli officials have repeatedly accused protest slogans and boycotts of fuelling antisemitism, a claim strongly disputed by Palestinian groups and anti-racism campaigners, including Jewish peace groups.

Origins of the word 'intifada'

The term "intifada", Arabic for "shaking off", entered common usage during the first Palestinian uprising in 1987, when mass civil resistance emerged against Israeli military occupation. The uprising involved strikes, boycotts and demonstrations, which were met with severe repression by Israeli forces.

While pro-Israel groups routinely portray the term as a call for violence against Jewish people, Palestinians and their supporters say it refers to collective resistance against occupation and oppression, not attacks on civilians.

"The implication that slogans supporting Palestinian liberation can only be interpreted through the lens of those complicit in Israel’s crimes is deeply dangerous," Jamal said.

As Israel’s war on Gaza continues, with more than 70,000 Palestinians killed, campaigners warn that the British government is moving to grant police even broader powers to restrict protest, effectively shielding Israel from public accountability while criminalising dissent.