Two women have been arrested in connection with photographs showing demonstrators at a pro-Palestinian march in London wearing pictures of paragliders.
The incident occurred in Whitehall just a week after the events of Oct 7 in which Hamas militants used paragliders to cross the border between Gaza and Israel and slaughter 1,400 civilians.
The two women, named as Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, from South London have both been charged with terror offences, the Metropolitan Police said.
They have been accused of carrying or displaying an article arousing reasonable suspicion that they were supporters of a proscribed organisation, namely Hamas, contrary to section 13(1) Terrorism Act 2000.
The incident is alleged to have occurred during the first major pro-Palestinian protest in Trafalgar Square on Oct 14.
Nick Price, head of the CPS special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “Following a review of evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police, we have authorised charges against two women who took part in a demonstration in central London last month.”
Both have been released on bail and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Nov 10.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “We have worked swiftly and decisively to investigate this matter and that has led to these two women being charged with terrorism offences.”
Cmdr Murphy said that the arrests came amid widespread concern about people using the “veil of legitimate protest” to carry out alleged criminal and terrorist activity.
Following the charges, the Met said it was still trying to identify another woman pictured with the image on her jacket.
She is described as black, wearing a red coat and with a dark scarf containing a flower pattern and baggy jeans.
Hamas militants used paragliders to attack the Supernova music festival in Southern Israel, killing more than 260 people.
