The British Home Secretary accused the country’s largest police force of being more lenient with pro-Palestinian protesters than other groups, deepening the political rift sparked by the war between Israel and Hamas.

In an unusual attack on the police, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the capital’s police force is turning a blind eye to law-breaking by “pro-Palestinian thugs.” She described protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza as “hate marches.”

Several previous demonstrations featured people glorifying Hamas, calling for the destruction of Israel, and anti-Semitic incidents.

Pro-Palestinian protests have been held in London and other British cities every weekend since the war began on October 7, which has led to the deaths of over 10,000 Palestinians.

The government criticized the organizers for planning Saturday’s march because it coincides with Armistice Day, the commemoration of the end of World War I, when many in Britain pause to remember the war dead.

The march comes one day before the main Sunday remembrance, when King Charles III, senior politicians, diplomats, military leaders, and veterans await the wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial in central London. The planned route does not pass near the memorial, which is located just steps from Parliament.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the planned weekend protests, calling them “provocative and disrespectful.” But after summoning the police chief Mark Rowley for talks on Wednesday, Sunak said the government supports “the right to peaceful protest.” The test of that freedom is whether our commitment to it can survive the discomfort and frustration felt by those who seek to exercise it, even if we disagree with them.

That appeared to end the dispute, but Braverman greatly escalated it with an article in Thursday’s Times of London. She accused the police of being softer on pro-Palestinian protesters and Black Lives Matter supporters compared to right-wing protesters or football hooligans.

Braverman said, “There is a perception that senior police officers act with bias when it comes to protesters,” describing the demonstrations calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as “a prioritization by certain groups,” especially Islamist extremists.

She said: “Terrorists have been valorized, and Israel demonized where Nazis and Jews have been threatened with further massacres.”