THREE cops were injured and 40 arrested last night during a pro-Palestine protest in London.
One police officer was left with a serious facial injury after being hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd in Westminster.
Two other officers had minor injuries.
The Metropolitan Police said the suspect who threw the bottle is being hunted.
A protest organised by a coalition of groups, including the Palestine Solidarity Group, began at around 6pm and was meant to stop at 8pm.
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
The majority of the crowd, between 8,000 and 10,000 people, left Whitehall without incident.
But a group of around 500 people remained and cops began making a number of arrests at around 10pm on protesters failing to comply.
Police said some of the crowd resisted arrest which required officers to use force to remove those who had been arrested before the protest broke away.
Officers then threw up a cordon to detain the group as they marched towards Bridge Street outside Westminster Station.
The 40 people arrested were held under offences including breaking the Public Order Act, obstruction of a highway and assaults of emergency workers.
By 2am police said all protesters had left the area.