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Government officials are planning to grant law enforcement new authorities to address ongoing protests, specifically aimed on taking action against Gaza-related protests, according to the Interior Ministry.

Recent Detentions and Proposed Changes

This announcement comes the morning after almost five hundred individuals were arrested in London for expressing support for a proscribed group, a banned organization. The new measures could allow authorities to instruct frequent demonstrations to be relocated to alternative locations.

The Home Secretary, is also set to examine existing anti-protest laws, with the potential to enhance authorities to ban some protests completely.

Planned Legislative Modifications

As part of these measures, the Home Secretary will push through rapid amendments to the Public Order Act 1986, allowing law enforcement to consider the "cumulative impact" of ongoing demonstrations. Specific details will be provided "at a later date", according to the statement.

If a protest has caused what authorities termed "repeated disorder" at the same site for several weeks, authorities would have the authority to require protest leaders to relocate the event to another location, with those who fail to comply risking arrest.

Broader Examination and Public Safety

The Home Secretary added that she would "also review current laws to ensure that authorities are adequate and being uniformly enforced", including law enforcement authorities to prohibit some protests entirely.

"The right to protest is a basic right in our nation. Nevertheless, this right must be balanced with the right of other citizens to go about their daily lives without anxiety," the Home Secretary stated.

"Large, repeated protests can cause sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and fearful of going out. This has been particularly evident in regarding the considerable fear within the Jewish community, which has been expressed to me on many occasions during these recent difficult days."

"These changes mark an significant move in guaranteeing we protect the freedom to demonstrate while ensuring everyone feel secure in this country."

Recent Situation and Police Response

The broader powers seem targeting both large-scale Gaza-support demonstrations, which took place in the capital and some other cities over a period of weeks, and those held to back the proscribed organization.

Recently, police detained approximately 500 people at the latest such protest. The event occurred even though ministers, among them senior figures, requesting that it be delayed following the recent deadly attack on a synagogue in the northern city.

Law Enforcement Viewpoint

Following the recent demonstration, the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation stated that police personnel managing protests in London were "emotionally and physically exhausted".

"This cannot continue. Our concentration should be on ensuring public safety at a time when the nation is on heightened alert from a terrorist attack. And instead police are being drawn in to facilitate these relentless protests," Paula Dodds stated.

Additional Legislative Measures

These changes come after demonstration-focused measures in the crime and policing bill currently under parliamentary consideration, which bans the carrying of masks or pyrotechnics at demonstrations, and makes illegal the scaling of specific war memorials.