Police clampdown on Palestine Action sees more than 100 people arrested nationwide - as activists in London chant 'f*** your Jewish state'

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

The police clampdown on Palestine Action has seen more than 100 people arrested nationwide - as activists in London chanted 'f*** your Jewish state' in shocking scenes.
Rallies were held in London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Truro today after the protest the campaign group outlawed as a terrorist organisation earlier this month.
The network of protests, organised by campaign group Defend Our Juries, saw participants hold placards reading: 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.'
Some 66 people were arrested by the Metropolitan Police in London's Parliament Square for this today, under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
A group of counter-protesters in the square held up placards which said: 'There is no genocide but there are 50 hostages still captive [the number as of June].' One person was arrested at the counter-protest.
The counter-protesters were met with shouts of 'f*** your Jewish state' and 'fascist' by some pro-Palestinian activists, The Telegraph reports.
There were 16 arrests on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation today by Greater Manchester Police. The people remain in custody for questioning.
For the same reason, 17 people were also arrested in Bristol today - while eight were arrested near Truro Cathedral in Cornwall and remain in custody.
Palestine Action, which has extensively protested against the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, was proscribed by the government on July 5.
The ban means membership of or support for the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison, under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Under the ban, inviting or expressing support for the organisation - through chanting, clothing or displaying articles like flags, signs or logos - is a criminal offence.
In London, protesters gathered today at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, where 55 were arrested.
A further eight activists were arrested for supporting a separate large-scale march, organised by the Palestine Coalition, to the capital's Whitehall area today.
One person was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence at the march and another was arrested for breaching Public Order Act conditions.
In Parliament Square, officers confiscated placards and searched the bags of those arrested.
Some had to be carried away by police after going limp when under arrest while others were led away in handcuffs.
Counter-protesters chanted 'there is no genocide' at the pro-Palestinian activists, with one shouting: 'You use genocide as an excuse of your hatred for the Jewish state.'
A spokesman for Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'These chants just show how thin the veneer is and why they fixate on Israel. The fact is that they hate the idea of a Jewish state existing because they cannot stand the idea of Jews having self-determination.
'Palestine Action has always been an extreme and hateful organisation and, rather than arresting and releasing their supporters, they must now face the full force of the law.'
Once gathered in the square, some pro-Palestinian protesters wrote 'I support Palestine Action' on blank signs.
A woman who was detained by police in the square said: 'We demand that Palestine Action is de-proscribed.
'Our government is not only arming a genocide, they are using terrorism laws to silence people who speak out.
'Palestine Action are campaigning for peace. They are dismantling weapons factories.'
Disrupting Israeli weapons manufacturing has historically been the main focus of the campaign group's non-violent protests.
One protester said, as he was carried away by police: 'Freedom of speech is dead in this country, shame on the Metropolitan Police.'
Pro-Palestinian supporters also gathered outside Downing Street today, making speeches saying: 'Starmer's project of fear has failed.'
Zoe Garbett, a Green Party member of the London Assembly, which scrutinises the Mayor of London, said: 'The Labour Government is aiding and abetting this genocide in Gaza.'
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who led today's policing operation in London, has previously said officers were watching for chants similar to the 'death to the IDF' shouted by artist Bob Vylan at Glastonbury Festival last month.
He said: 'At previous protests, the area between the main march and any counter-protest has seen the most heated exchanges.
'Officers will be particularly alert to conduct, including chanting, in this area, and will be working with stewards to ensure crowds keep moving past this point.
'Where they become aware of behaviour that crosses the line from protest into criminality, they will intervene and take appropriate action.'
He said those planning to take part in Defend Our Juries' protests 'will likely be committing an offence and will very likely be arrested'.
'I would urge those people to consider the seriousness of being arrested under the Terrorism Act and the very real long-term implications – from travel, to employment, to finances – that such an arrest is likely to have for their future', he said.
Protesters in Manchester also gathered by a Gandhi statue, near Manchester Cathedral in the city centre this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police later said in a statement: 'We have arrested 16 people on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
'They remain in custody for questioning at this time.'
Meanwhile, of events in Bristol, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'Officers engaged with protesters on College Green, explaining that the recent proscription of the Palestine Action group by the Government made it a criminal offence to express support for it under the Terrorism Act 2000.
'Seventeen people were arrested under Section 13 of the act and several placards were seized.
'A further three people will be invited to attend a voluntary interview at a future date.
'We will always aim to enable peaceful protest, however where criminal offences are committed, including those related to proscribed groups, we will intervene.'
Around 30 protesters were involved in the 'peaceful' companion demonstration in the city of Truro in Cornwall.
Defend Our Juries said the arrested an 81-year-old former magistrate named Deborah Hinton.
The protests come ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary's decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws. Pictured: Protests in London today
Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement: 'A number of placards which were contrary to the law remained on display despite police advice.
'Eight people, two men and six women, were arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They remain in police custody.'
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: 'Just a few weeks ago, being arrested under the Terrorism Act was the stuff of nightmares.
'Now it's a badge of honour that people are wearing with pride - the mark of resistance to genocide and standing firm for our democratic freedoms.'
Those taken away by police this weekend included charity workers, dentists and teachers.
The capital has seen a staggering 127 arrests at similar demonstrations over the past three weeks.
Defend Our Juries has said a total of 120 have been detained to date across the country.
The protests come ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori will ask for the green light to challenge the Home Secretary's decision to ban the group under anti-terror laws.
The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20.
Palestine Action claimed responsibility for this incident, which caused around £7million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action three days later.
She said the vandalism of the planes was 'disgraceful' and the group had a 'long history of unacceptable criminal damage'.
Those detained this weekend were of mixed ages, from their 20s to 60s and many said they had jobs and had been arrested before.
At least one member of Palestine Coalition was arrested 'after being heard to chanting 'words likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress', the Met Police said.
A member of Palestine Action who was arrested said: 'This will keep happening. I'm a teacher and I don't care anymore. This government is complicit in genocide.'
Another identified their job as a teacher and one as a charity worker.
A retired dentist said: 'This government is attacking democracy. We live in a dictatorship.'
When asked if they were worried about being arrested, the man, aged in his 60s, said: 'Yes but I'm more worried about genocide.
'I've never been in trouble before. I am standing against war crimes and war criminals.'
A large police presence saw more than twenty officers circle the group and warned that they would be arrested unless they put away their signs and left the area.
Police carried several demonstrators from the area to waiting police vans, with one 38-year-year old protester from Stroud saying she had attended the protest 'to defend our rights to protest' and highlight 'the corruption of the government'.
The activist - who gave their name as Shel and said they worked as a full time non-violence trainer - said: 'We will not comply. We want the UK government to lift the ban on Palestine Action. This is not a terrorist organisation.
'The British state is complicit in making non violent direct action protesters terrorists. They are not. It's the people in government who are the terrorists.'
She said she knew 'it was possible' that she would be arrested for her actions in London today.
The protester also said that a mass rally in support of Palestine Action would be taking place on August 9, but the location was not disclosed.
Another activist - a woman using a walking stick who refused to state her name to reporters - said being detained by the police was 'a small price to pay' as she was escorted by officers to a police van.
Another activist, Abigail Maxwell, broke into tears when asked by police to put down a sign showing support for Palestine Action.
The activist said: 'I am a Quaker. I'm here to say - stop the killing of children. I thought it was possible I could be arrested - but I am never able to predict the future.'
As one man was carried away by police, he said: 'Freedom of speech is dead in this country, shame on the Metropolitan Police.'
In Devon, eight people were arrested after protesters gathered to show support for Palestine Action near Truro Cathedral.
Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement that around 30 protesters were involved in the 'peaceful' Defend Our Juries demonstration.
The force went on: 'A number of placards which were contrary to the law remained on display despite police advice.
'Eight people, two men and six women, were arrested on suspicion of offences under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000. They remain in police custody.'
A small number of counter-protesters in central London held up placards which said 'there is no genocide but there are 50 hostages still captive'.
Earlier on Saturday Metropolitan Police officers were deployed across the capital along the route of the march which crossed Westminster Bridge, along York Road, north across Waterloo Bridge and down to Whitehall via the Strand.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, which is supporting the campaign to de-proscribe Palestine Action, said: 'These protests will see many more ordinary people across the country take a stand, who don't want to be handcuffed and detained in a police cell but refuse to stand by while our country collapses into an Orwellian nightmare where opponents of genocide are criminalised and silenced, and arrested just for holding a sign.
'Protest groups targeting property, not people, in order to disrupt the flow of arms to Israel 's war machine while it commits horrific atrocities - is obviously not terrorism. It aims to stop violence and terrorism being committed against the Palestinian people.
'How long until this unprecedented, authoritarian proscription is used against racial justice, climate, disability rights groups and trade unions, unless we resist the ban now, before it's too late?'.
It comes after the Home Office earlier this month ruled to ban Palestine Action, with the group failing to block its proscription as a terrorist organisation in a late-night legal bid.
Lawyers representing co-founder Huda Ammori, whose father is Palestinian, asked for the decision to be delayed at least until July 21.
A woman had her bags and placards taken off her and was taken away by police officers following her arrest at the London demonstration on Saturday
People held signs saying 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action' while wearing traditional keffiyehs scarves - they were later arrested
Two elderly women were arrested by police and escorted over to a waiting vehicle after having their placards taken off them
A woman being picked up by police by her arms as she continued to protest in London in the rain on Saturday
A woman using a walking stick refused to state her name to reporters and said being detained by the police was 'a small price to pay' as she was escorted by officers to a police van
Police surround a woman sat on the floor who was protesting in London on Saturday
A woman being arrested by a police officer while protesting in Parliament Square, central London on Saturday
The designation as a terror group means that membership of or support for Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
This includes chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos.
Palestine Action argues it is a protest group that has never incited or encouraged violence, but does support civil disobedience.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries said: 'Just a few weeks ago, being arrested under the Terrorism Act was the stuff of nightmares. Now it's a badge of honour that people are wearing with pride - the mark of resistance to genocide and standing firm for our democratic freedoms.
'This is a major cultural shift. For years, the Terrorism laws and the Prevent programme have been used to divide and rule communities, and to marginalise Muslim communities in particular. Thanks to Yvette Cooper's hubris, they are now helping to bring us together.'
Activists protest against the continuing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians since October 7 - when 1,200 Israelis were killed by a Hamas incursion into the country.
One of those protesting last week is former government lawyer Tim Crosland. He said: 'There are already 18 Palestine Actionists held in UK prisons without a trial, following lobbying by the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, the leading supplier of the machinery of genocide.
'If we cannot speak freely about the genocide of Palestinians, if we cannot condemn those who enable it and praise those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy in this country is dead.'
Two week sago Reverend Sue Parfitt, 83, (pictured) was arrested for protesting in support of Palestine Action in Westminsterafter the Met said: 'The law doesn't have an age limit'
Protesters gathered in central London on Saturday (pictured) for the third consecutive week to oppose the decision to ban the campaign group
At least 41 people were arrested by the Metropolitan Police last week for supporting Palestine Action Pictured: A protester is arrested and carried away at Saturday's protests in London
A protester is arrested and carried away at Saturday's demonstration in London
Scotland Yard said its stance remains that officers will act where criminal offences, including support of proscribed groups or organisations, are committed.
The latest arrests come after at least 42 protesters were detained by police officers last Saturday as activists gathered for a second week in a row beside a statue of Gandhi in London 's Parliament Square, holding placards reading: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.'
Another 16 arrests were made in Manchester and 13 people were also held in Cardiff at other related demonstrations last Saturday.
Those held were of mixed ages, from their 20s to 70s and many said they had jobs and had been arrested before.
Officers could then be seen carrying away a number of protesters who were lying down, lifting them off the ground and into waiting police vans parked around the square.
Other standing protesters were also led away from the statues and placed into the vans.
The offences mainly related to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, an officer said.
Previously almost 30 people on suspicion of terrorism offences after protesters gathered in Parliament Square also holding signs supporting Palestine Action, just hours after a ban on the came into effect.
Two protestors sat in the back of a police van after being arrested for supporting Palestine Action after a ban against the organisation earlier this month
Protestors - whose ages ranged from 20s to 70s- were led away from the square outside Parliament in handcuffs last Saturday
Police officers arrest protesters around the statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square who were holding placards in support of Palestine Action, which has been banned under anti-terrorism laws
Police in Manchester arrest a Palestine Action protestor wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh
A supporter of banned organisation Palestine Action is dragged away by police officers in St Peter's Square, Manchester
One of those arrested was an 83-year-old priest and the Met said: 'The law doesn't have an age limit'.
Around two dozen people, including a priest, professor and an emergency care worker who is just back from Gaza, sat in front of the Gandhi statue in Parliament Square on Saturday expressing support for the group, which is now a proscribed terrorist organisation.
They held signs saying: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.'
Last week protestors said they didn't care what happened to them and vowed to keep on protesting.
One protester, an architect called Steve, 59, said: 'I'm terrified. But some things in this world are bigger than fear of arrest. I will do whatever it takes to highlight this problem.
'They (the police) can do whatever they want. I don't care.'
One woman, Kate, was holding a sign which said: 'I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.'
She said: 'It's shocking. I'm terrified. But the greater risk is genocide. That's more important. I don't have a phone. I've never been arrested before.
'I can't work because I've been trouble before connected to these activities.
'I was in social care. I had a good job. Nobody will employ me now. They'll think I'm a terrorist after this as well.'