Sinn Fein leader's 'oceans of tears' speech at pro-Palestine rally 'dripped with hypocrisy': Jim Allister

Ms McDonald was one of several speakers who addressed the thousands of protesters who attended the Global Day of Action rally on Saturday – calling for an end to Israel’s military operation in response to the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7.

In her speech, she said: “For nearly one hundred days, the mothers and fathers of Gaza have wept an ocean of tears over the still bodies of their dead children,” and added, “some believe that Israel can act with impunity, rain hell on a civilian population, decimate a civilian infrastructure – hospitals, schools, refugee camps, terrorise children, steal their lives, without consequence”.

Mr Allister said Ms McDonald’s comments “dripped with hypocrisy,” considering the republican movement’s “absolute contempt for the tears of mothers who wept over children murdered by the IRA”.

After referencing the case of Belfast IRA victim Jean McConville, a mother of ten children abducted and murdered in 1972, Mr Allister said he was “not surprised” that Ms McDonald had “managed to gloss over the plight of Israeli hostages when mocking Israel’s efforts at self-defence”.

More than 1,700 police officers were on duty to oversee the protest march from London's commercial centre to Westminster.

The organisers said similar demonstrations were taking place in 30 different countries.

Ahead of the London march, police issued a warning that people who "intentionally push the limit" on placards or chanting offensive slogans risk arrest.

Afterwards, the Met Police said six people had been detained for various offences including possession of offensive placards and breaches of the Terrorism Act.

Ms McDonald told the crowd: “Israel seeks to justify its barbarity calling it self-defence. Destroying hospitals, cutting off water supplies is not self-defence. Displacing an entire population is not self-defence. Massacring children in their thousands is not self-defence.

Ms McDonald added: “We seek a new horizon of freedom, of peace, of security. To the cynics, the indifferent, the belligerent, who say that this can’t happen, that peace and Palestinian freedom is a dream too far.

“I say this standing here in London, in common cause with you, having walked our own long journey out of conflict, of building a peace for twenty-five years. I say this can happen, this must happen, that all of us must ensure it will happen.”

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary has said that the international Islamist political group Hizb ut-Tahrir should be banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK as it “promotes and encourages terrorism”.

James Cleverly has moved to proscribe the group by putting an order before Parliament which would make joining the organisation illegal in the UK under terror laws, the Home Office said.

The proposal will be debated in Parliament this week and, if approved, the ban would come into force on Friday making Hizb ut-Tahrir the 80th organisation to be proscribed in the UK.

Sinn Fein has been invited to respond to Jim Allister’s comments.