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Government officials are set to grant law enforcement additional powers to target ongoing demonstrations, specifically aimed on taking action against Middle East protests, as stated by the Home Office.

Recent Detentions and Proposed Modifications

This declaration follows the morning after nearly 500 people were detained in London for showing solidarity for Palestine Action, a prohibited entity. The new measures could allow authorities to order regular demonstrations to be moved to alternative sites.

Shabana Mahmood, will also review all anti-protest laws, with the potential to strengthen powers to prohibit some protests completely.

Planned Legislative Changes

Under the planned powers, the Home Secretary will push through rapid amendments to the existing public order legislation, allowing law enforcement to take into account the "combined effect" of ongoing protests. Further information will be released "at a later date", according to the announcement.

If a protest has resulted in what authorities called "ongoing disruption" at the identical site for multiple weeks, authorities would have the power to order protest leaders to move the event to another location, with participants who do not obey facing arrest.

Wider Examination and Public Security

The Home Secretary added that she would "examine existing legislation to ensure that powers are adequate and being uniformly enforced", including police powers to ban some protests completely.

"The right to protest is a basic right in our country. Nevertheless, this freedom must be balanced with the right of their neighbours to live their lives without fear," Mahmood stated.

"Frequent, sizable demonstrations can cause certain communities, especially religious communities, feeling unsafe, threatened and fearful of going out. This has been especially noticeable in regarding the considerable fear within the Jewish population, which has been expressed to me on many occasions during these recent difficult days."

"These changes mark an significant move in ensuring we safeguard the freedom to demonstrate while making certain all feel secure in this country."

Current Situation and Law Enforcement Reaction

These expanded authorities seem aimed at both mass pro-Gaza protests, which took place in London and various urban centers over a period of weeks, and gatherings organized to support the proscribed organization.

Recently, authorities detained about five hundred people at the most recent such protest. This gathering occurred even though government officials, among them political leaders, requesting that it be delayed following the recent tragic incident on a synagogue in Manchester.

Police Perspective

Following the recent demonstration, the leader of the Metropolitan Police Federation stated that officers policing protests in the capital were "emotionally and physically exhausted".

"This cannot continue. Our focus should be on keeping people safe at a period when the country is on increased security from a terrorist attack. And instead police are being pulled away to facilitate these relentless protests," Paula Dodds said.

Additional Legal Actions

These changes follow demonstration-focused measures in the public safety legislation currently going through parliament, which bans the possession of masks or fireworks at demonstrations, and makes illegal the scaling of specific memorial structures.