A consultant to London’s Metropolitan Police has purportedly been exposed as an activist who, according to detractors, has called for Israel’s destruction in speeches made public.
Metropolitan Police adviser Attiq Malik was recorded in 2021 inciting protesters to yell, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The Anti-Defamation League has branded the statement “an antisemitic slogan widely used in anti-Israel campaigns and screamed at protests,” and the British government has condemned it as “extremely insulting.”
This is essentially a proposal for a Palestinian state that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which would require the destruction of the Jewish state because it would encompass Israel.
Most notably, Malik’s presence in the police operations room during last month’s anti-Israel riots in London has brought his role with the Met Police under increased scrutiny. The lack of a police response to demonstrators chanting “jihad” was already being pointed out by critics.
The arrest of a man who posted a video criticizing people for posting Palestinian flags, as well as the focus on Malik’s involvement with the police, come as the agency faces criticism for seemingly unequal treatment that has favored pro-Palestinians.
Later, the individual was taken into custody “on suspicion of a Section 5 public order offense with racial aggravation.”
When asked if antisemitism was subject to the same kind of crackdown, a police representative stated, “We won’t be adding anything further.”
Critics have also gone to social media to slam police over the treatment of U.K. veterans ahead of threats by pro-Palestinian protestors to march on the country’s most significant memorial for fallen soldiers during Remembrance Day.
Protesters pointed out that marchers were permitted to march down the road waving Palestinian flags without similar vetting, as demonstrated in a viral video posted to X in which police are seen asking British veterans to stay behind barricades while brandishing British flags.
British broadcaster and ex-leader of the Brexit Party Nigel Farage has criticized police for their softer stance toward pro-Palestinian protesters after sharing a video of a policeman fist-bumping one of the marchers.
