THOUSANDS of protesters gathered in London today for the Quds Day demonstration as police warned officers would take decisive action against intifada chants and Palestine Action support.

The Metropolitan Police deployed at least 1,000 officers to the rally after Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood imposed a ban on demonstrators marching through the capital.

Instead, supporters were allowed to hold a two-hour static protest on the south bank of the Thames from 1pm while the nearby Lambeth Bridge was closed; counterprotesters on the other side of the river were also banned from marching.

About 12,000 people were expected to demonstrate their support for the Palestinian people on the annual day of protest named after the Arabic name of Jerusalem initiated by Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 revolution in Iran.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said ahead of the protest: “Officers on the ground will act decisively and be briefed on placards, flags and chanting that will cross the line into hate crime or support of a proscribed organisation. As set out previously, we will also take action where we see chants calling for intifada. We know these words have consequences.”

While technically still in place until the Home Office’s appeal is heard, the High Court struck down the government’s ban on Palestine Action last month.

Banning the march last week, the Home Secretary claimed it was “necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counterprotests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”

Organisers including the Islamic Human Rights Commission explained that the march has taken place in peace each year. The commission said it had forewarned protesters that they could face arrest for flying flags linked to proscribed terror groups such as Hezbollah.

At least three people were arrested, the Met said, claiming one was for “showing support for a proscribed organisation, one for dangerous driving and a third for threatening and abusive behaviour.”

The Met defended the restrictions on demonstrations claiming it was “a limited and specific ban” applying only to Quds Day protests and any counterdemonstrations, and would be in place for a month.

Stop the War spokeswoman Jennie Walsh called the restrictions a disgrace and condemned the fact a “peaceful static demonstration was so heavily policed.”

She told the Morning Star: “It is not necessary to agree with all the politics of al-Quds Day to recognise this is an attack on the entire Palestine and anti-war movement: part of a mounting campaign against those who stand against war and for a free Palestine.”