Gaza: Nearly 900 people were detained by police in London on Saturday for protesting against the ban on Palestine Action, a group the UK government has branded a terrorist organisation. Protesters argue that the ban is an unwarranted curb on free speech and the right to protest. British police confirmed on Sunday that they arrested almost 900 individuals demonstrating in London against the ban on the group, which has been deemed a terrorist organisation by the government.
According to France24.com, almost 1,600 people have now been detained, many for silently holding signs supporting the group, since it was outlawed two months ago. The Metropolitan Police force stated that 890 people were arrested at Saturday's demonstration, with the vast majority, 857, detained under the Terrorism Act for supporting a proscribed organisation. An additional 33 were detained for other offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers.
Defend Our Juries, an advocacy group, claimed that the 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?"
The government proscribed Palestine Action in July, following activists' break-in at a Royal Air Force base where they vandalised planes to protest against what they called Britain's support for Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes and caused further damage with crowbars.
Proscription has made it a crime to publicly support the organisation, with membership of, or support for, the group punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Palestine Action has conducted direct action protests in the UK since its formation in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK, targeting other sites believed to have links with the Israeli military.
The group has targeted defence companies and national infrastructure, with officials stating their actions have caused millions of pounds in damage affecting national security. Banning the group, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, "The assessments are very clear, this is not a nonviolent organisation."
Palestine Action has won High Court approval to challenge the ban, a ruling the government is seeking to overturn, with a hearing scheduled for Sept. 25. The UN human rights chief criticised 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 not terrorist in nature, risking hindrance to the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms across the UK, 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, 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 earned support from prominent cultural figures, including bestselling Irish author Sally Rooney, who has pledged to use her work's proceeds to support Palestine Action and direct action against what she calls "genocide."
Israel, founded partly as a refuge in the wake of the Holocaust, when some 6 million European Jews were murdered, vehemently denies committing genocide. Britain's government stressed that proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist group does not affect other lawful groups, including pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel voices, campaigning or peacefully protesting.
About 20,000 people, according to a police estimate, attended a separate pro-Palestinian march in London on Saturday.
