Thousands march against antisemitism in London as Tommy Robinson arrested - latest

The Happy-Go-Lucky actor posted on X: “It was an honour to be invited to speak, to stand in solidarity with my Jewish friends in face of the appalling rise in antisemitism, to condemn the seven-fold increase in Islamophobic hate crime & to call out the far right who are trying to capitalise on the situation.”

Marsan, who is not Jewish but recieved abuse for playing the leader of an anti-fascist group in ‘Ridley Road’, questioned why some people did not condemn Hamas after its attack on Israel in his speech.

He said: “Following the events of October 7 there were those who rushed to condemn the destruction of Gaza and the loss of innocent life, which is completely right.

“But there were many who were hesitant to acknowledge or condemn the actions of Hamas against Israel and to call for the hostages to be released.

“And when I saw this I asked a Jewish friend of mine in the film business ‘why can’t they do both?’.

“And they said ‘it’s because they’re afraid, because they’re afraid of the backlash’.”

He also called for moderate people to “face down extremism and bigotry”.

He went on: “Fundamentalists always scream loud to drown out the voice of reasonable people, moderate people.

“Well in my experience people aren’t moderate because they’re turning a blind eye to injustice, people are moderate because they can see both sides of the debate, both sides of an argument, and they can sense the greater truth.”

English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson was pepper-sprayed by police as they arrested him at an antisemitism march in London.

Robinson was detained by dozens of officers near the Royal Courts of Justice, from where the demonstration began on Sunday, after march organisers said he would not be welcome.

The 40 year-old, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, uploaded a video on social media of his partially closed eyes after officers used the synthetic pepper spray. He was still in police custody on Sunday evening.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, accused by civil rights groups of amplifying anti-Jewish hatred on his X social media platform, will meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday along with Israelis whose relatives have been held by Hamas in Gaza.

Herzog’s office announced the meeting on Sunday night, saying, “In their meeting, the president will emphasize the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online.”

Musk, a billionaire who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, visits during a four-day truce in an Israeli war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israel’s Channel 12 said Musk would also meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. There was no immediate comment from his office.

Netanyahu met Musk in California on Sept. 18 and urged him to strike a balance between protecting free expression and fighting hate speech after weeks of controversy over antisemitic content on X.

Benjamin Netanyahu has told US President Joe Biden Israel will continue its campaign in Gaza “with full force” when the temporary truce comes to an end despite Hamas claims it wants it to be extended.

The truce deal is due to end tomorrow night, but could yet be extended - with Israel offering to extend the pause in fighting by 24 hours for every 10 hostages Hamas releases.

Mr Netanyahu said he welcomed this possibility in his call with the US president, with the White House adding they agreed to “continue working to secure the release of all hostages”.

Palestinian families waited anxiously outside Israeli Ofer prison and at a key roundabout in Ramallah, for the release of 39 Palestinians - six women and 33 teenagers - as part of the hostage agreement.

Israel has drafted a list of 300 Palestinian women and children in jails across Israel it said could be released as part of an extended exchange truce deal with militant group Hamas.

Israel has said that it considers all the prisoners to have “blood on their hands” and has denounced the released prisoners as “terrorists.”

Sunday’s list - shared with The Independent - included mostly teenage boys aged between 15- 19, accused of public disorder, property damage and in some cases causing or threatening physical harm to Israeli officers by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.

Several them of them had been held in administrative detention, which means Israel can hold them indefinitely without charge or trial, a practice rights groups say is a violation of international law.

One of the released teenagers in administrative detention was Obada Khalil, who was 17 when he was arrested from his bed in a 3am raid last June.

On the Israeli ministry of justice list the Israeli authorities shared with the public it is listed he was arrested for “security” reasons - no further details are given.

His father Abu Ahmed told The Independent since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October Obada had not been permitted prison visits or phone calls and they didn’t know what state he was in.

His mother Badriya, said “I didn’t sleep at night until the list was published, we only found out an hour ago.”

A US Navy vessel responded to a distress call from an Israeli-linked chemical tanker Central Park and ensured that it was safe and free, two US officials said on Sunday.

One of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mason had helped ensure that the tanker was safe.

Unidentified armed individuals had seized a tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday.

The fullest image yet of life under Hamas captivity was conjured by 85-year-old Yocheved Lipschitz, a hostage who was freed before the current cease-fire. Upon her release, Lipschitz said she had been held in tunnels which stretched under Gaza “like a spider web.”

She said her captors “told us they are people who believe in the Quran and wouldn’t hurt us.”Lifshitz said captives were treated well and received medical care, including medication.

The guards kept conditions clean, she said. Hostages were given one meal a day of cheese, cucumber and pita, she said, adding that her captors ate the same.There were initial indications that the recently freed hostages had also been held underground.

Eyal Nouri, the nephew of Adina Moshe, 72, who was freed on Friday, said his aunt “had to adjust to the sunlight” because she had been in darkness for weeks.“She was in complete darkness,” said Nouri. “She was walking with her eyes down because she was in a tunnel. She was not used to the daylight. And during her captivity, she was disconnected ... from all the outside world.”

Nouri said that Adina didn’t know that she was going to be released until the very last moment.“Until she saw the Red Cross,” he said. “This is the moment when she realized, okay, these horrifying seven weeks are over.”

This is the moment 21-year-old Maya Regev, kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7th terror attack, was reunited with her family following her release on Sunday 26 November.

Ms Regev was shot in the leg by Hamas during the attack on the Supernova Music Festival and taken to Gaza where she was held for 51 days as a hostage, alongside 250 others.

She was returned to Israel as part of a ceasefire deal in which Hamas would release 50 hostages in return for the release of 150 Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons.

More details coming out on yesterday’s arrest of English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson, who was was pepper-sprayed by police at the antisemitism march in London.

Mr Robinson, 40, was detained by dozens of officers near the Royal Courts of Justice, from where the demonstration began on Sunday, after march organisers said he would not be welcome.

Mr Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who was in police custody on Sunday evening, uploaded a video on social media of his partially closed eyes after officers used the synthetic pepper spray.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “The arrested man resisted as officers attempted to put him in handcuffs. He was warned repeatedly before PAVA spray was used.

“Following its use, officers gained control of him and handcuffs were applied.”