A protest and a counter-protest unfolded in north London on Sunday outside an event billed as the Great Israeli Real Estate Event. Campaigners gathered there say the event advertised the sale of land in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a claim that placed the gathering at the centre of an increasingly heated standoff. The demonstration drew people on both sides of the issue to the streets around the venue, turning a quiet corner of the capital into a flashpoint.
A correspondent reporting from the scene estimated that around 250 people had turned out to protest against the event, while there were perhaps a thousand counter-protesters in the surrounding area. Word of both the protest and the counter-protest had spread online beforehand, helping to swell the numbers on each side. As the afternoon wore on, the atmosphere was described as growing gradually more tense.
A large police presence was deployed to manage the crowds, with dozens of officers stationed around the area. According to the reporting from the scene, there were several detentions during the demonstration, though the exact number of arrests was not confirmed. A number of scuffles also broke out as the two groups were kept in close proximity to one another.
Some of the counter-protesters complained that the police had allowed the two sides to get far too close together, raising the risk of confrontation. Others argued that the whole situation had been caused by the event being permitted to go ahead in the first place. The frustration on the ground added to the sense of tension as officers worked to keep the groups apart.
The protest centred on allegations that some of the property and land being marketed at the event was located on contested territory. Those allegations were heavily denied at the venue. The correspondent at the scene cautioned that it was not possible to independently confirm exactly what was being sold inside, underlining how much around the event remained disputed.
The gathering followed mounting political pressure in the run-up to the event. According to the reporting, around a hundred UK lawmakers, including members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, had signed a letter calling for the event to be cancelled altogether. Despite those calls, the event went ahead, drawing the rival demonstrations that played out on the surrounding streets.