LONDON — Fourteen people were arrested during protests outside an Israeli real estate event held at the Edgware United Synagogue in north London on Sunday, police confirmed. The event, organized by My Home in Israel and featuring property offerings within Israel’s internationally recognized borders, drew significant demonstration from both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists.

The Great Israeli Real Estate Event took place despite calls from over 100 British lawmakers, the Mayor of London, and several human rights organizations to cancel the gathering. Critics, including Amnesty International U.K. and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, argued that the fair would promote real estate sales in Israeli settlements located in the West Bank. Organizers denied these accusations, stating that no properties beyond the Green Line were being marketed at the event.

Police described the scene outside the synagogue as highly charged, with an estimated 1,000 demonstrators and counter-demonstrators present. Officers from the Metropolitan Police, supported by the Community Security Trust (CST), a Jewish security group, maintained a barrier between the opposing crowds. The police deployed a specialist rapid-response unit and a helicopter to manage the situation. The pro-Israel protesters notably outnumbered those supporting the Palestinian cause, and hundreds of Jewish residents formed a human shield to prevent pro-Palestinian activists from approaching the synagogue.

Among the 14 arrested, five faced charges related to violent disorder, including one individual arrested also for assaulting an emergency worker. Other arrests included offenses under the Public Order Act, some linked to racially or religiously aggravated conduct, as well as common assault. Authorities described the protest outside as having escalated into violent incidents on multiple occasions.

The organizers of the event maintained that the properties shown were located in cities like Jerusalem, Netanya, and Ramat Beit Shemesh, areas popular with English-speaking immigrants to Israel. Despite no visible marketing of West Bank properties inside the venue, archived website material from earlier in June briefly included Gush Etzion—a Jewish settlement bloc near Bethlehem in the West Bank—as an area for information requests; this content was later removed.

Amid the tensions, a protester from the Jewish Bloc for Palestine UK reportedly disrupted the event inside the synagogue before being escorted out by attendees. Outside, chants from pro-Palestinian demonstrators, including slogans warning of future actions, were heard.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the protest, calling it “wholly unjustified” and rooted in “false pretenses.” Acting president Adrian Cohen expressed concern over what he described as harassment and intimidation of the Jewish community under the guise of protest.

The debate surrounding the event reflects ongoing tensions over Israeli settlement policies and the contested status of land in the West Bank, highlighting differing perspectives on property marketing and political activism within the diaspora communities in London.