Police in London have arrested hundreds of people at a protest in support of the group Palestine Action, which was classified as a “terror organisation” by the British government last month.
The Metropolitan Police said 466 demonstrators had been arrested at Parliament Square by 9pm local time (20:00 GMT) on Saturday “for showing support for Palestine Action”. Aljazeera reported.
will take time, but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action,” the police force said in an earlier post on X.
Videos shared on social media showed police removing protesters who had been seated across the square, holding signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
“The people are collectively opposing the genocide in Gaza and the Palestine Action ban,” Defend Our Juries, an advocacy group that organised the protest, wrote on X.
The arrests are the latest at a series of protests denouncing the government’s ban on Palestine Action, a move critics say infringes on freedom of speech and the right to protest, as well as aims to stifle demonstrations against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership in or support for the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Reporting from Parliament Square on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said the threat of arrest or punishment “hasn’t deterred any supporters” of Palestine Action from expressing their backing for the group.
“Something as simple as wearing a t-shirt saying, ‘I support Palestine Action’, or even having that written on a sheet of paper” could lead to an arrest, Gallego said.
