More than 1,000 officers will be on duty to police a pro-Palestinian protest in central London on Saturday.
Thousands of people are expected to march in solidarity with Palestine and demand Israel ends its occupation of Palestinian land, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
Starting at Portland Place at 12pm, protesters will march through London before finishing in Whitehall at about 3pm.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, of the Metropolitan Police, told a press briefing on Friday: “It’s not unusual for London to host protests of that size – almost every week we are hosting very large protests – and I have got a very experienced command team working on this one because of all of the sensitivities and the context in which this protest is taking place.”
Protest liaison teams have been working with organisers to determine what will and will not be acceptable for the Met and how the events can be carried out safely.
Mr Taylor said it is the Met’s job to “balance the right of lawful protest against what that protest is doing”, as it is often individuals within a protest who breach lines of criminality rather than the protest itself.
He added: “Whilst people have the right to protest, they do not have the right to incite violence, they do not have the right to incite hatred and they do not have the right to commit criminal offences and we will robustly police that situation.”
Waving a proscribed flag in support of Hamas or other proscribed organisations at the protest will be an offence.
Having and waving a Palestinian flag alone will not be an offence but it could form part of one if it is associated with words or actions inciting violence.
Mr Taylor said this creates “really tricky lines” for policing and the Met has asked the Attorney General and Crown Prosecution Service for “absolute clarity and guidance” on the issue, with a written response expected before the protest.
Related: Three arrests at London protests at Israel-Gaza conflict
