THE January 18 rally against Israel’s genocide in Gaza has received far more attention from the media than most of the more than 2,600 marches and protests that have taken place in the UK since October 7 2023 — and for all the wrong reasons.

For the most part, readers of mainstream media would hardly register even the largest protests week by week, except for the comments of opponents of the pro-Palestine movement aimed at demonising them as an expression of “hate.” But the latest National March for Gaza — which became a “static rally” after police restricted its movement because of complaints from pro-Israel groups — saw extensive media coverage after the Metropolitan Police claimed that those attending the rally on Whitehall “forced” their way through police lines and into Trafalgar Square then refused to disperse, and arrested dozens including some with violence, and charged at least 10 people so far.

I was at the front of that rally as it moved along Whitehall — and the Met’s claims about the conduct of those present are a wholesale falsehood, as an abundance of video evidence has since made clear.