Almost 1,600 people have been detained since the group was outlawed two months ago, many for silently holding signs calling for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and expressing support for the banned organization. Protesters say the ban on Palestine Action is an unwarranted curb on free speech and the right to protest.
The Metropolitan Police force said 890 people were arrested at Saturday's demonstration; the vast majority, 857, under the Terrorism Act for supporting a proscribed organization. Some 33 were detained for other offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers.
Defend Our Juries, the campaign group organizing the protest, said 1,500 people took part in the demonstration outside Parliament, sitting down and holding signs reading “I oppose genocide; I support Palestine Action.”
Within minutes, police began arresting the demonstrators, as bystanders chanted “Shame on you” and “Met Police, pick a side, justice or genocide.” There were some scuffles and angry exchanges as officers dragged away demonstrators who went limp as they were removed from the crowd.
“In carrying out their duties today, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on, and had objects thrown at them by protesters,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who called the abuse directed at police “intolerable.”
Defend Our Juries said aggression had come from police officers and dismissed claims that protesters had been violent as “frankly laughable.”
More than 700 people were arrested at earlier protests, and 138 have been charged under the Terrorism Act.
Mike Higgins, 62, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, was arrested last month but returned to demonstrate on Saturday.
“And I’m a terrorist? That’s the joke of it,” he said. “I’ve already been arrested under the Terrorism Act, and I suspect I will be today.
“Of course I’ll keep coming back. What choice do I have?”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 64,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since it began in October 2023.
More than 160,000 have been injured, at least 9,000 remain buried beneath the rubble, and an Israeli blockade has driven famine in the territory, where more than 360 people, including 130 children, have died from hunger.
Direct action protests
The government proscribed Palestine Action in July after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized planes in protest at what they called Britain’s support for Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. They sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker aircraft and caused further damage with crowbars.
Proscription made it a crime to publicly support the organization, with membership or backing punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Palestine Action has secured High Court approval to challenge the ban, though the government is seeking to overturn the ruling. The case is ongoing, with a hearing scheduled for 25 September.
Formed in 2020, the group has carried out direct action protests across the U.K., including break-ins at facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems U.K., and has targeted other sites it says are linked to the Israeli military.
Officials say its actions against defense companies and national infrastructure have caused millions of pounds in damage and posed a threat to national security.
Supporters say the ban stifles free speech
The U.N. human rights chief has criticized the British government’s stance, saying the new law “misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism.”
The decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist group “raises serious concerns that counterterrorism laws are being applied to conduct that is not terrorist in nature and risks hindering the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the U.K.,” Volker Türk warned.
He added that according to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to crimes such as those intended to cause death or serious injury or the taking of hostages.
Huda Ammori, Palestine Action’s co-founder, has condemned the government’s decision to ban it as “catastrophic” for civil liberties, leading to a “much wider chilling effect on freedom of speech.”
The group has been supported by prominent cultural figures, including bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney, who said she planned to use the proceeds of her work “to keep backing Palestine Action and direct action against genocide.”
Britain’s government said proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist group does not affect other lawful organisations, including pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel groups campaigning or protesting peacefully. But many holding placards calling for an end to Israel’s genocide have faced a crackdown.
About 20,000 people, by a police estimate, attended a separate pro-Palestinian march in London on Saturday.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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