Pro-Israel supporters attack protesters at controversial London real estate event
Israel supporters attacked pro-Palestine protesters outside a London real estate event on Sunday that was promoting the sale of land and properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Middle East Eye journalists witnessed at least one incident where a pro-Israel supporter threw punches at a pro-Palestine demonstrator, as hundreds of people amassed outside the Edgware United Synagogue in West London to protest against the 'Great Israeli Real Estate Event'.
In the incident, the Israel supporter could be seen punching a pro-Palestine advocate who was standing behind a metal railing before police officers ushered him away.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement that 15 people were arrested in connection to the protests, seven pro-Israel supporters, six pro-Palestine and two not clear at this stage.
Several of the pro-Palestine advocates who attended the protest told MEE that they were demonstrating against what they called "Israel's illegal sale of stolen Palestinian land."
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"This event is land theft," Oscar Leyens, a pro-Palestine activist, told MEE.
"They are trading land to explicitly only a Jewish population in order to organise settlers to move to their apartheid state. And in the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, we say this is a disgrace to Jewish history of resistance against fascism and racism.
"They are the fascists, they are the racists, and we will not stand for a moment while they trade in Palestinian land," he added.
Protesters gathered outside Edgware United Synagogue in London on Sunday to demonstrate against the "Great Israeli Real Estate Event" being held inside, where companies advertise land for sale in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
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Outside the synagogue, MEE journalists repeatedly heard the Israel supporters chant: "There is no Palestine, we flattened it", while children shouted "whores" and "prostitutes" at pro-Palestine activists.
'This event is land theft'
- Oscar Leyens, pro-Palestine activist
Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, a journalist and activist against Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, said the scenes reminded him of settler attacks he had witnessed in Palestine.
"We are surrounded by a bunch of Zionists who are counter-protesting and attacking people. A bunch of Palestinian activists were attacked by the Zionists and then got arrested," said Khrzhanovskiy.
"This is very reminiscent of everything that I've seen in the West Bank… I feel like I've been here before," he added.
Events draws widespread opposition
The event, organised by the My Home in Israel real estate agency, drew widespread opposition from human rights activists and politicians over its connection to illegal Israeli settlements.
On Friday, more than 100 MPs urged the cancellation of the event in a letter to the foreign secretary.
"Allowing the event to proceed would not only be inconsistent with current UK government guidance on settlement-related economic activity, it would stand in opposition to the government's obligations under international law," the letter to Yvette Cooper read.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also opposed the event, saying: "I share concerns about the Great Israeli Real Estate Event taking place in our city, which I oppose, and that's why I've discussed this directly with the Met Police.
"I'm informed that any allegations of criminality relating to the potentially unlawful sale of property at the event would be assessed by the Met with a view to investigation," he added.
Emanuel Vatari, the CEO of one of the event's sponsors, the Emanuel Group, posted a list of participating companies on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
The list included Harey Zahav, an Israeli real estate development company whose website advertises properties in Negohot, an illegal Israeli settlement in the southern Hebron Hills in the occupied West Bank.
Also on the list was the Meshulam Levinstein Group, a collection of engineering, construction and real estate companies.
It has built residential and commercial projects in illegal settlements in both the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.
One was a housing project and a commercial centre it built in the settlement neighbourhood of Homat Shmuel in occupied East Jerusalem.
Another participant was the Tivuch Shelly real estate agency, which advertises properties in Ma'ale Adunim - a West Bank settlement.
Africa Israel Residences, another company participating in the event, is part of the Africa Israel Group, which has been involved in several projects in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based legal group, sent a letter to the synagogue on Saturday to place it "on notice of serious legal and reputational concerns regarding the event".
The letter, seen by MEE, said: "The event is being promoted as a platform for the marketing and sale of real estate in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory."
It warned: "Government guidance expressly advises businesses against engaging in economic and financial activities connected to settlements and warns of the legal and commercial risks associated with such activities."
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