Police arrest pro-Palestinians demonstrators for defacing Picasso in Gaza protest

The two protesters were part of the British pro-Palestinian group Youth Demand, aiming to protest UK arms sales to Israel.

 Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London, 5 October 2024 (photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators in London, 5 October 2024
(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X)

Pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after covering a Picasso painting with a photo of a mother and child from Gaza last week at the National Gallery in London, according to footage published on Instagram by British pro-Palestinian organization Youth Demand on Wednesday. 

The two Youth Demand members arrested were protesting UK arms sales to Israel.

In the video posted to their social media, the two are shown entering the art gallery, quickly covering the glass that protected the Picasso painting, and spilling red paint on the floor. 

A spokesperson from the National Gallery responded, “Police attended and arrested the pair. The room reopened to the public at 2.30 pm. There has been no damage to any paintings.”

The pro-Palestinian group posted a message on social media along with a video of their attack. “We need a two-way arms embargo on Israel now; 87% of the British public want this,” they claimed. 

Protesters gather at The University of Manchester campus, as students occupy parts of British university campuses to protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Manchester, Britain, May 7, 2024.  (credit: REUTERS/MOLLY DARLINGTON)
Protesters gather at The University of Manchester campus, as students occupy parts of British university campuses to protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Manchester, Britain, May 7, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/MOLLY DARLINGTON)

One of the protesters, Monday-Malachi Rosenfeld, explained why he was protesting. "I am taking action because, as a Jew, I feel like it’s my duty to call out the genocide being committed in Gaza. I want the world to know this isn’t in the Jewish name, and I want to see a free Palestine," he claimed. 

An article from the Independent noted that this incident is similar to another protest in 2022, in which two Just Stop Oil activists were arrested for pouring soup over a Vincent Van Gogh painting at the National Gallery to protest the use of fossil fuels.

UK suspension of arms

This demonstration came only days after tens of thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched through London, as worldwide anti-Israel rallies took place ahead of the one-year anniversary of October 7.

In early September, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK had suspended 30 of the 350 arms contracts with Israel over concerns that the military equipment would be used for human rights violations in the Gaza war.


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Netanyahu had responded by saying that “The United Kingdom’s decision to suspend arms sales earmarked for Gaza is shameful and will not “change Israel’s determination to defeat Hamas,”