A life-size statue depicting convicted terrorist Marwan Barghouti, erected on the roof of “‘Palestine’ House” in central London, has become the subject of an official planning enforcement investigation by Camden Council. The investigation began after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), an independent association of legal professionals, submitted formal representations to municipal authorities about the monument’s legal status and planning permissions.
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The life-size bronze figure depicts Barghouti standing with his arms raised over his head. The sculpture sits prominently atop the rooftop of the building on High Holborn, an address within a strictly designated municipal conservation area. Barghouti is serving five consecutive life sentences alongside an additional 40 years in an Israeli prison following his conviction by the Tel Aviv District Court on five counts of murder, attempted murder, and membership in a terrorist organization for directing lethal shooting sprees and suicide bombings carried out by the Tanzim and Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades during the Second Intifada.
In its legal submission to Camden Council, UKLFI demonstrated that neither the bronze statue nor the substantial structural plinth supporting it appeared in the approved architectural blueprints authorized for the property. The legal group emphasized that although preliminary planning permissions had been granted for minor utilitarian rooftop additions, that authorization did not extend to artistic or figurative installations and required independent planning review and public consultation.
UKLFI further noted that the original municipal approval for rooftop modifications was predicated on strict conditions: the additions had to remain negligible in height and at a set distance from the building facade to ensure they remained unobtrusive and unseen from street level. A prominent, life-size statue positioned above that roofline breaches those parameters and directly impacts the character and appearance of the protected conservation area. The dispute is the latest in a series of planning conflicts concerning the High Holborn site. According to UKLFI, earlier complaints brought against the operators of “‘Palestine’ House” focused on the installation of large nationalist flags, advertising billboards, and unpermitted illuminated signage.
Several of those displays were later removed under municipal pressure, while others remain under administrative appeal after Camden Council refused
to grant retroactive approval.While Camden Council’s ongoing inquiry is framed strictly around municipal planning statutes and building codes,
it has not issued a final executive order compelling the statue’s immediate removal. UKLFI criticized the local authority’s handling of the site, warning that sluggish administrative enforcement fosters an environment of non-compliance and permits the public display of monuments dedicated to convicted terror leaders in central London.