Appeal for tolerance as Jews 'fear entering city centre'

LONDON must remain a beacon of tolerance, ministers and the Mayor said today amid warnings that Jewish people have been too afraid to enter the centre of the capital during pro-Palestinian protests

- Jitendra Joshi , Nicholas Cecil

The Prime Minister was convening a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee to discuss security risks from the Middle East conflict, as Israel mounted ground incursions into Gaza three weeks after Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,400 people on Israeli soil and took 230 people hostage, including Britons.

The death toll in Gaza itself has now surpassed 8,000, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, as desperate Palestinians break into UN warehouses to take aid supplies with the territory under Israeli siege.

After 70,000 people staged a pro-Palestinian protest in the capital for a third weekend, Minister for London Paul Scully told the Standard: “People are understandably concerned about what is happening in Gaza, as well as the horrors of the terrorist attack by Hamas. Israel has a right to defend itself and Palestinians should be able to live a peaceful and equitable life. It’s really important that people in London should choose their words carefully and not inflame hatred and violence,” he added. “London is a really tolerant city that values people from all faiths and backgrounds.”