Police were called to a speaking event in Falkirk after it was targeted by protestors.
The Forth Valley Palestine Solidarity Network hosted an event at the Sensory Centre in the town which featured Dr Yvonne Ridley, who was part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, and MP Brian Leishman.
The meeting was protested by a number of groups who oppose the housing of asylum seekers in the local Cladhan Hotel.
Police Scotland were called to the Centre, with attendees describing "genuine fear" and an alleged incident of spitting.
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Yvonne Ridley Workers Party Scotland candidate for Glasgow said: "Last night, I attended a peaceful speaker event organised by the Forth Valley Palestine Solidarity Network in Falkirk. It was a community-based meeting intended to provide space for discussion, solidarity, and civic engagement.
"Among those present were women, children, elderly residents, and disabled members of our community. The local Labour MP, Brian Leishman, was in attendance, along with two SNP councillors, Susan McGill (Stirling Council) and Gary Bouse (Falkirk Council).
"This was a public meeting attended by elected representatives and ordinary members of the community, united in their compassion and commitment to freedom, justice and equality.
"Outside the venue, however, a very different atmosphere prevailed.
"A hate-fuelled far-right mob had assembled with one clear purpose: intimidation. Some individuals concealed their identities behind balaclavas. Draped in Israeli flags and the Union Flag, they shouted abuse, swore aggressively, and directed threats at those attempting to enter. Particularly singling out women wearing hijabs for attention. They jostled attendees creating a hostile, volatile environment. At least one person attempting to enter the meeting was spat at.
"The sheer ferocity of the mob created genuine fear. Many people who had intended to attend the meeting made the understandable decision to turn away for their own safety. All were confronted with a scene designed to make them feel unsafe and unwelcome in their own town.
"This was an attempt to bully and silence.
"Police attended the scene and, due to the escalating hostility, were forced to call for reinforcements.
"We were informed that there were insufficient resources available at that time to make arrests, and that body-worn camera footage would be reviewed afterwards. It is deeply troubling that again we see individuals in Falkirk behaving in such an openly aggressive and unlawful manner without consequence.
"Despite these efforts at intimidation, and over two hours of constant din outside, the meeting itself went ahead. It was dignified, thoughtful, and constructive, the very opposite of the hatred on display outside. That contrast could not have been clearer.
"At the conclusion of the event, attendees were permitted to leave in small escorted groups of no more than five at a time. Running the gauntlet of continued abuse. Followed to our vehicles, car number plates were photographed in a clear act of further intimidation designed to instil fear beyond the event itself."
Falkirk for All said: "Let us be absolutely clear about what happened.
"They came to threaten.
"They came to bully.
"They came to silence.
"They failed.
"What they underestimated is that solidarity is stronger than intimidation. Community is stronger than hatred. And dignity is stronger than aggression.
"We refuse to allow hatred to take root in our town. We refuse to allow organised intimidation to dictate who may gather peacefully and who may not. We refuse to allow women, children, our elderly neighbours, or disabled community members to be harassed for standing in solidarity with Palestine.
"If mobs are permitted to terrorise us into silence, then something far more serious is at stake than a single meeting."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On the evening of Thursday, 12 February, 2026, officers were in attendance at a protest on Redbrae Road, Falkirk.
“There were no arrests.”
