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Ministers are set to grant law enforcement additional powers to target recurring protests, with a particular focus on taking action against Gaza-related protests, according to the Interior Ministry.

Recent Detentions and Proposed Modifications

This declaration follows just after nearly 500 people were detained in London for showing solidarity for Palestine Action, a prohibited entity. The new measures could allow authorities to instruct frequent demonstrations to be moved to alternative sites.

Shabana Mahmood, is also set to review all legislation regarding demonstrations, with the potential to enhance authorities to prohibit certain protests outright.

Planned Legal Changes

Under the planned powers, Mahmood will push through swift changes to the Public Order Act 1986, allowing law enforcement to consider the "cumulative impact" of ongoing protests. Specific details will be provided "at a later date", according to the statement.

If a protest has resulted in what authorities termed "ongoing disruption" at the same site for multiple weeks, police would gain the authority to order protest leaders to move the event to another location, with participants who fail to comply risking detention.

Broader Examination and Community Safety

Mahmood added that she would "examine current laws to guarantee that authorities are adequate and being uniformly enforced", covering law enforcement authorities to ban some protests completely.

"The freedom to demonstrate is a basic right in our nation. However, this freedom must be weighed with the right of their neighbours to live their lives without anxiety," Mahmood stated.

"Large, repeated protests can cause certain communities, particularly religious communities, experiencing insecurity, intimidated and fearful of going out. This has been especially noticeable in regarding the considerable fear within the Jewish population, which has been communicated with me on many occasions during these recent difficult days."

"These changes represent an important step in guaranteeing we safeguard the right to protest while making certain everyone feel secure in this country."

Current Situation and Law Enforcement Response

These expanded authorities seem aimed at both large-scale Gaza-support demonstrations, which took place in London and various urban centers over a series of weeks, and those held to back Palestine Action.

Recently, police arrested about five hundred individuals at the latest such protest. The event occurred even though government officials, among them senior figures, asking that it be delayed following this week's tragic incident on a synagogue in the northern city.

Law Enforcement Viewpoint

Following the recent demonstration, the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation stated that police personnel policing protests in London were "drained both mentally and physically".

"This cannot continue. Our focus should be on ensuring public safety at a time when the country is on increased security from a terrorist attack. And instead police are being pulled away to manage these relentless protests," Paula Dodds stated.

Additional Legal Actions

These changes come after demonstration-focused provisions in the public safety legislation currently under parliamentary consideration, which prohibits the carrying of masks or pyrotechnics at demonstrations, and makes illegal the scaling of certain memorial structures.