British police scuffled with protesters outside Parliament on Saturday, September 6, as they arrested more than 400 demonstrators who gathered to defy a ban on the group Palestine Action, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by the government. Defend Our Juries, the campaign group organizing the protest, said 1,500 people took part in the London demonstration, 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 w'ent limp as they were removed from the crowd. Eight hours after the protest started, police said they had arrested more than 425 people, more than 25 of them for assaulting officers or public order offenses and the rest under the Terrorism Act.
"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.
Palestine Action has carried out direct action protests in the UK since it formed in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK, and has targeted other sites in Britain that participants believe have links with the Israeli military. The group has targeted defense companies and national infrastructure, and officials say their actions have caused millions of pounds in damage that affects national security.
Banning the group, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, "The assessments are very clear, this is not a nonviolent organization."
Palestine Action has won approval from the High Court to challenge the ban, a ruling the government is seeking to overturn. The case is ongoing, with a hearing scheduled for September 25.
The UN 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 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.