LONDON – More than 20 individuals were arrested in London on terrorism-related charges after expressing support for Palestine Action, a group recently banned under the UK’s anti-terrorism laws, authorities confirmed Saturday.
The arrests came just hours after the group was officially designated a terrorist organisation, following a failed last-minute legal appeal to block the ban. The proscription came into force at midnight Friday, making it illegal to support or promote the group in any form.
Under the UK Terrorism Act, offences such as endorsing, inviting support for, or displaying symbols of a banned group can carry penalties of up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine.
The UK government moved to proscribe Palestine Action last month after its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military aircraft, in protest of what they described as Britain’s complicity in Israel’s Genocide in Gaza.
On Saturday, protesters gathered in Parliament Square, Westminster, some holding signs that read:
“I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION.”
Footage aired showed police leading away demonstrators in handcuffs, including some removed from the base of a Mahatma Gandhi statue, as they chanted pro-Palestine Action slogans.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper defended the ban, stating that violence and criminal damage go beyond the bounds of legitimate protest.
“Palestine Action’s repeated criminal acts, including attacks on property and infrastructure, warrant this designation,” she said.
However, critics, including UN experts and civil liberties advocates, have pushed back, arguing that property damage alone does not equate to terrorism and that the ban could set a dangerous precedent for the right to protest.
In a separate incident, police arrested five members of the Youth Demand group after they threw red paint on a vehicle involved in the London Pride parade and glued themselves to it. The parade resumed after a brief disruption.
The UK has now banned 81 organisations under its anti-terror laws, including Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and Daesh (ISIS).
