Police in London have arrested more than 500 pro-Palestinian protesters supporting the Palestine Action group during a sit-down demonstration in Trafalgar Square. Officers removed activists while other demonstrators cheered and clapped, highlighting the tense atmosphere surrounding the ongoing protests.
The protesters on Saturday faced arrest for holding placards supporting Palestine Action, with the Metropolitan Police confirming 523 arrests of individuals aged 18 to 87. Palestine Action was designated a “terrorist” organisation in July, making membership in or support for the group punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Although the High Court overturned this ban in mid-February, citing free speech concerns, the UK government has appealed the ruling. After initially pausing arrests following the court order, police resumed enforcement in late March, a move that has drawn criticism from civil liberties groups.
Defend Our Juries, the protest organisers, stated that hundreds of people participated to oppose “the UK Government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the misguided crackdown on peaceful protest at home”. The group criticised police for “choosing to make arrests despite the government’s ban on the group being ruled unlawful by the High Court”. Amnesty International UK condemned the arrests as “yet another blow to civil liberties”, noting that the police force had “gone back to its old, failed policy – mass arrests of people holding pieces of card, including today an elderly woman with walking sticks”.
Founded in 2020, Palestine Action’s stated goal is to end “global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”, primarily targeting weapons factories, especially those of the Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems. The ban, which places Palestine Action alongside groups such as al-Qaeda, has generated significant backlash. A judge has suspended all trials of those charged with supporting the group, scheduling a review for July 30. Since the ban was imposed, nearly 3,000 arrests have occurred, primarily for displaying placards supporting the group, and hundreds of people now face charges, underscoring the broader societal friction over protest rights and foreign policy alignment.
Source: www.aljazeera.com