London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Met Police confirm 493 arrests in central London amid protests supporting the banned group Palestine Action, as tensions rise in the capital.
According to our judges, some 1,000 people participated in protests in support of Palestine Action, a group that the government outlawed in July, making it unlawful to associate with or support them.
Despite demands from police and governments to halt protests in the wake of Thursday’s horrific synagogue attack in Manchester, demonstrations continued.
Protesters were asked to “respect the grief of British Jews” by Sir Keir Starmer, and Jewish leaders also denounced that.
Protect Zoe Cohen, a member of our Juries, expressed that she is “grieving for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered, displaced, and starved in Gaza” in addition to being “grieving after the appalling synagogue attack” as a Muslim.
She added:
“I think it’s possible for us to be compassionate and open our hearts to victims of multiple atrocities at one time.”
In the statement, released during the protest, she said “if today’s vigil had been cancelled we would have been letting terror win”.
In their latest update, the Met Police said:
“As of 18:30 BST officers had arrested 442 people for supporting a proscribed organisation.”
Earlier on Saturday they said:
“The majority of people still remaining in Trafalgar Square are onlookers who are not holding placards in support of Palestine Action.”
After gathering in Whitehall, another protest group “blocked the road before attempting to march first towards Trafalgar Square, then Parliament Square,” the statement continued. Police have stepped in.
Police have placed restrictions on the Whitehall protest under the Public Order Act, requiring demonstrators to disperse off the road and gather on Richmond Terrace. When it is safe to do so, officers will reopen the road.
The Met Police announced ahead of the protests that 1,500 officers will be sent to Trafalgar Square to cope with the demonstrators.
According to a Saturday afternoon update from the Met, six people were arrested for displaying a banner supporting the banned group on Westminster Bridge earlier in the day, while the majority of those arrested were detained for congregating in Trafalgar Square.
Because “many of those arrested won’t walk out of the square and need to be carried,” the force claimed that every arrest takes time.
According to the Met, in order to carry out this procedure securely, a minimum of five officers are needed.
Concerns regarding the amount of police resources the protest would take away at a time when communities needed “visible reassurance and protective security” were expressed in a letter sent by the Met to Defend Our Juries on Friday.
However, the organization, which has spearheaded protests against the prohibition on Palestine Action, disregarded these requests and carried out the demonstration.
It expressed its hope that police will “choose to prioritise protecting the public from real terrorism, and not waste resources on enforcing the absurd and ridiculous ban on Palestine Action” in a statement prior to the event.
Minutes before the main event started in Trafalgar Square, Defend Our Juries managed to hold two banners over the north side of Westminster Bridge which read:
“I oppose genocide” and “I support Palestine Action”.
The Met said officers removed the banners minutes later, and arrested those involved for supporting a proscribed organisation.
A spokesperson for human rights group Amnesty International UK, said arresting people for “peacefully sitting down and holding these signs” was not a job for the police.
“These arrests are in breach of the UK’s international human rights obligations and should not be happening”,
they added.
A similar event held by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine also took place where a crowd of around 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral ahead of a march.
The Manchester Palestine Movement said the protest was to mark “two years of genocide in Gaza”.
Israel has regularly denied that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, but last month the world’s leading association of genocide scholars said that the country’s conduct meets the legal definition as laid out in the UN convention on genocide.
What evidence links protesters to Palestine Action?
The evidence linking protesters to Palestine Action primarily comes from their public display of support for the proscribed group at protests, including chanting slogans and holding placards that directly state support for Palestine Action, such as “I support Palestine Action.”
Police and government authorities have used these actions as grounds for arrests under anti-terrorism laws because Palestine Action was banned for violent tactics and direct actions against UK military and arms industry sites.
Palestine Action’s history of direct action such as vandalism, occupation of facilities, and property destruction targeting UK arms manufacturers linked to Israel.