UK police arrest backers of banned Palestine Action
The government moved to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two planes in protest against what the group said was the United Kingdom's support for Israel.
Late on Friday, the campaign lost an urgent appeal against the parliamentary decision to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation, with the ban coming into force from midnight.
Under UK laws, offences include inviting support, expressing approval or displaying symbols of a banned group and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine.
The UK has proscribed 81 groups under anti-terrorism laws, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
On Saturday, supporters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, some holding placards that said "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION".
Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs from a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the square, as they shouted their support.
United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group's activities justify proscription.
Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.
At another protest on Saturday, the police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters from the Youth Demand group who threw red paint over a truck involved in London's Pride parade and glued themselves to the vehicle.
The parade has since resumed.
UK police have arrested more than 20 people on suspicion of terrorism offences after they showed support for the newly banned Palestine Action group in London, officials say, hours after the proscription came into effect.
The government moved to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two planes in protest against what the group said was the United Kingdom's support for Israel.
Late on Friday, the campaign lost an urgent appeal against the parliamentary decision to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation, with the ban coming into force from midnight.
Under UK laws, offences include inviting support, expressing approval or displaying symbols of a banned group and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine.
The UK has proscribed 81 groups under anti-terrorism laws, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
On Saturday, supporters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, some holding placards that said "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION".
Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs from a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the square, as they shouted their support.
United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group's activities justify proscription.
Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.
At another protest on Saturday, the police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters from the Youth Demand group who threw red paint over a truck involved in London's Pride parade and glued themselves to the vehicle.
The parade has since resumed.
UK police have arrested more than 20 people on suspicion of terrorism offences after they showed support for the newly banned Palestine Action group in London, officials say, hours after the proscription came into effect.
The government moved to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two planes in protest against what the group said was the United Kingdom's support for Israel.
Late on Friday, the campaign lost an urgent appeal against the parliamentary decision to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation, with the ban coming into force from midnight.
Under UK laws, offences include inviting support, expressing approval or displaying symbols of a banned group and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine.
The UK has proscribed 81 groups under anti-terrorism laws, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
On Saturday, supporters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, some holding placards that said "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION".
Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs from a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the square, as they shouted their support.
United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group's activities justify proscription.
Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.
At another protest on Saturday, the police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters from the Youth Demand group who threw red paint over a truck involved in London's Pride parade and glued themselves to the vehicle.
The parade has since resumed.
UK police have arrested more than 20 people on suspicion of terrorism offences after they showed support for the newly banned Palestine Action group in London, officials say, hours after the proscription came into effect.
The government moved to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws last month after its activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged two planes in protest against what the group said was the United Kingdom's support for Israel.
Late on Friday, the campaign lost an urgent appeal against the parliamentary decision to proscribe it as a terrorist organisation, with the ban coming into force from midnight.
Under UK laws, offences include inviting support, expressing approval or displaying symbols of a banned group and are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or a fine.
The UK has proscribed 81 groups under anti-terrorism laws, including Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
On Saturday, supporters gathered in Parliament Square in Westminster, some holding placards that said "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE. I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION".
Sky News footage showed some being led away in handcuffs from a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the square, as they shouted their support.
United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, which began after militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK in its protests, with interior minister Yvette Cooper saying that violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that the group's activities justify proscription.
Critics of the decision, including some United Nations experts and civil liberties groups, have argued that damaging property does not amount to terrorism.
At another protest on Saturday, the police arrested five pro-Palestine protesters from the Youth Demand group who threw red paint over a truck involved in London's Pride parade and glued themselves to the vehicle.
The parade has since resumed.
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Croatian police said Perkovic's concert was the biggest ever in the country and an unseen security challenge, requiring the deployment of thousands of officers. No major incidents were reported. A hugely popular right-wing Croatian singer and hundreds of thousands of his fans have performed a pro-Nazi World War II salute at a massive concert in Zagreb, drawing criticism. One of Marko Perkovic's most popular songs, played during the late Saturday concert, starts with the dreaded "For the homeland - Ready!" salute, used by Croatia's Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ran concentration camps at the time. Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a US-made machine gun, had previously said both the song and the salute focused on the 1991-95 ethnic war in Croatia, in which he fought using the American firearm, after the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. He says his controversial song is "a witness of an era". The 1990s conflict erupted when rebel minority Serbs, backed by neighbouring Serbia, took up guns, intending to split from Croatia and unite with Serbia. Perkovic's immense popularity in Croatia reflects prevailing nationalist sentiments in the country 30 years after the war ended. The WWII Ustasha troops in Croatia brutally killed tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croats in a string of concentration camps in the country. Despite documented atrocities, some nationalists still view the Ustasha regime leaders as founders of the independent Croatian state. Organisers said half a million people attended Perkovic's concert in the Croatian capital. Video footage aired by Croatian media showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perkovic can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Perkovic has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi references and displays at his gigs. Croatia's Vecernji List daily wrote that the concert's "supreme organisation" has been overshadowed by the use of the salute of a regime that signed off on "mass executions of people". Regional N1 television noted that whatever the modern interpretations of the salute might be, its roots were "undoubtedly" in the Ustasha regime. The station said that while "Germans have made a clear cut" from anything Nazi-related "to prevent crooked interpretations and the return to a dark past ... Croatia is nowhere near that in 2025". In neighbouring Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic criticised Perkovic's concerts as a display "of support for pro-Nazi values". Former Serbian liberal leader Boris Tadic said it was a "great shame for Croatia" and "the European Union" because the concert "glorifies the killing of members of one nation, in this case Serbian". Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Croatian police said Perkovic's concert was the biggest ever in the country and an unseen security challenge, requiring the deployment of thousands of officers. No major incidents were reported. A hugely popular right-wing Croatian singer and hundreds of thousands of his fans have performed a pro-Nazi World War II salute at a massive concert in Zagreb, drawing criticism. One of Marko Perkovic's most popular songs, played during the late Saturday concert, starts with the dreaded "For the homeland - Ready!" salute, used by Croatia's Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ran concentration camps at the time. Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a US-made machine gun, had previously said both the song and the salute focused on the 1991-95 ethnic war in Croatia, in which he fought using the American firearm, after the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. He says his controversial song is "a witness of an era". The 1990s conflict erupted when rebel minority Serbs, backed by neighbouring Serbia, took up guns, intending to split from Croatia and unite with Serbia. Perkovic's immense popularity in Croatia reflects prevailing nationalist sentiments in the country 30 years after the war ended. The WWII Ustasha troops in Croatia brutally killed tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croats in a string of concentration camps in the country. Despite documented atrocities, some nationalists still view the Ustasha regime leaders as founders of the independent Croatian state. Organisers said half a million people attended Perkovic's concert in the Croatian capital. Video footage aired by Croatian media showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perkovic can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Perkovic has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi references and displays at his gigs. Croatia's Vecernji List daily wrote that the concert's "supreme organisation" has been overshadowed by the use of the salute of a regime that signed off on "mass executions of people". Regional N1 television noted that whatever the modern interpretations of the salute might be, its roots were "undoubtedly" in the Ustasha regime. The station said that while "Germans have made a clear cut" from anything Nazi-related "to prevent crooked interpretations and the return to a dark past ... Croatia is nowhere near that in 2025". In neighbouring Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic criticised Perkovic's concerts as a display "of support for pro-Nazi values". Former Serbian liberal leader Boris Tadic said it was a "great shame for Croatia" and "the European Union" because the concert "glorifies the killing of members of one nation, in this case Serbian". Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Croatian police said Perkovic's concert was the biggest ever in the country and an unseen security challenge, requiring the deployment of thousands of officers. No major incidents were reported. A hugely popular right-wing Croatian singer and hundreds of thousands of his fans have performed a pro-Nazi World War II salute at a massive concert in Zagreb, drawing criticism. One of Marko Perkovic's most popular songs, played during the late Saturday concert, starts with the dreaded "For the homeland - Ready!" salute, used by Croatia's Nazi-era puppet Ustasha regime that ran concentration camps at the time. Perkovic, whose stage name is Thompson after a US-made machine gun, had previously said both the song and the salute focused on the 1991-95 ethnic war in Croatia, in which he fought using the American firearm, after the country declared independence from the former Yugoslavia. He says his controversial song is "a witness of an era". The 1990s conflict erupted when rebel minority Serbs, backed by neighbouring Serbia, took up guns, intending to split from Croatia and unite with Serbia. Perkovic's immense popularity in Croatia reflects prevailing nationalist sentiments in the country 30 years after the war ended. The WWII Ustasha troops in Croatia brutally killed tens of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and antifascist Croats in a string of concentration camps in the country. Despite documented atrocities, some nationalists still view the Ustasha regime leaders as founders of the independent Croatian state. Organisers said half a million people attended Perkovic's concert in the Croatian capital. Video footage aired by Croatian media showed many fans displaying pro-Nazi salutes earlier in the day. The salute is punishable by law in Croatia, but courts have ruled Perkovic can use it as part of his song, the Croatian state television HRT said. Perkovic has been banned from performing in some European cities over frequent pro-Nazi references and displays at his gigs. Croatia's Vecernji List daily wrote that the concert's "supreme organisation" has been overshadowed by the use of the salute of a regime that signed off on "mass executions of people". Regional N1 television noted that whatever the modern interpretations of the salute might be, its roots were "undoubtedly" in the Ustasha regime. The station said that while "Germans have made a clear cut" from anything Nazi-related "to prevent crooked interpretations and the return to a dark past ... Croatia is nowhere near that in 2025". In neighbouring Serbia, populist President Aleksandar Vucic criticised Perkovic's concerts as a display "of support for pro-Nazi values". Former Serbian liberal leader Boris Tadic said it was a "great shame for Croatia" and "the European Union" because the concert "glorifies the killing of members of one nation, in this case Serbian". Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Croatian police said Perkovic's concert was the biggest ever in the country and an unseen security challenge, requiring the deployment of thousands of officers. No major incidents were reported.
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The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Five of the dead belonged to the same family, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 33 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Five of the dead belonged to the same family, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction.
