Fifty-five arrests at Palestine Action ban protests
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
British police arrest scores of supporters of newly banned Palestinian protest group
Police arrested at least 41 people in London and 16 others in Manchester. Campaign group Defend Our Juries said 86 people had been arrested across the UK. British lawmakers proscribed the group under anti-terrorism legislation. Some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel. The International Court of Justice is hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
British police detaining a protester at a rally for the banned group Palestine Action in Manchester on July 12.
LONDON – British police arrested scores of supporters on July 12 of a pro-Palestinian protest group that was banned this month under anti-terrorism legislation.
Police said they had arrested at least 41 people in London and 16 others in Manchester for showing support for the group Palestine Action.
Campaign group Defend Our Juries said 86 people had been arrested across the UK, with other protests held in Wales and Northern Ireland.
British lawmakers proscribed the group under anti-terrorism legislation earlier this month after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
“Officers have made 41 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organisation. One person has been arrested for common assault,” London’s Metropolitan Police said, in a statement on social media about the demonstration.
After a similar protest in London last week, police arrested 29 people.
Before the July 12 arrests in London, close to 50 protesters had gathered with placards saying “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action” near a statue of former South African President Nelson Mandela outside the British Parliament.
The International Court of Justice in the Hague is hearing a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023. Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses.
The British government’s decision to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist group places it in the same category as Hamas, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. Membership now carries a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Protesters are arrested and their placards confiscated in Parliament Square, London, on July 12. PHOTO: AFP
Opponents of the ban say using anti-terrorism laws is inappropriate against a group accused mainly of damaging property rather than harming people, although some members have in the past been charged with violence in clashes with police.
Palestine Action generally targeted Israeli and Israel-linked businesses in Britain such as defence company Elbit Systems, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.
In an unsuccessful court appeal against the ban, a lawyer for Palestine Action said the government ban was the first time Britain had proscribed a group which undertook this type of direct action. REUTERS
Arrests made at protest in support of banned Palestine Action
Arrests made at protest in support of banned Palestine Action in London. Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers are responding to the protest in Parliament Square and making arrests. The group was banned despite a lte High Court challenge on Friday. Membership of Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The group was banned despite a lte High Court challenge
People take part in a protest in support of Palestine Action, organised by the Defend Our Juries group, in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, central London
Arrests have been made at a protest in London being held in support of Palestine Action after a ban on the group came into force on Saturday, police said. The Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers are responding to the protest in Parliament Square and making arrests.
Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being banned, less than two hours before the new legislation came into force at midnight.
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.
The force posted on X saying: “Officers are responding to a protest in support of Palestine Action in Parliament Square.
“The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence.
Article continues below
“Arrests are being made.
“Further updates will be shared here.”
UK police arrest over 20 supporters of now banned Palestine Action group
Protesters held in London after group is banned under UK anti-terrorism laws. Police arrest five people after they threw red paint over a car. The group is protesting against Israel’s attack on Gaza in 2009. The UK government has banned 81 groups, including Hamas and al-Qaeda, from the UK for five years. The ban comes after the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning the actions of the groups, calling for them to be banned.
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 Britain’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. Britain 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 Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has repeatedly dismissed such accusations.
Palestine Action has targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain 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.
(Reporting by Muvija M; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Palestine Action live updates as Met Police crackdown begins after government brands group terrorists
Police in London arrest people for allegedly supporting Palestine Action. Ban came into force at midnight on Saturday, but some have defied it with a silent protest in Parliament Square. Metropolitan Police posted on X on Saturday afternoon saying officers are responding to the protest and making arrests, while warning expressing support is a criminal offence. The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action in June.
Palestine Action lost a late-night Court of Appeal challenge on Friday which sought to stop the protest group being proscribed, less than two hours before the new law came into force at midnight. 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.
However, it appears some have defied the ban with a silent protest in Parliament Square. The Press Association news agency reports a mass of Metropolitan Police circled around dozens of protesters standing quietly beneath the statue of Mahatma Ghandi, with placards that said: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.
The move to ban the organisation was announced after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused around £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action in June, stating that the vandalism of the two planes was “disgraceful” and that the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.
Palestine Action says it is a ‘civil disobedience group’ that carries out direct action but does not advocate for violence. At the High Court, legal counsel said the group was inspired by ‘suffragettes, anti-apartheid activists, and Iraq war activists’. They added that the group’s goal is to put itself ‘in the way of the military machine’.
For more than fifty years, Palestinians have faced human rights abuses due to Israeli occupation. On October 7 2023, Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,195 and taking 251 hostages. Israel retaliated with an air and ground assault on Gaza, which has displaced 1.9million and killed at least 57,000. Amnesty International and a United Nations Special Committee have called it genocide.
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More than 50 people arrested at protests supporting banned Palestine Action
Protesters gathered in Parliament Square for a second week in a row. Police reiterated that showing support for Palestine Action was a criminal offence. Metropolitan Police made 42 arrests, including one for common assault. Other demonstrations also took place across the UK on Saturday, including in Manchester, Cardiff and Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action, saying that the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”. The terror group designation means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton.
Protesters sat underneath two statues in Parliament Square during the demonstration (James Manning/PA)
Other demonstrations also took place across the UK on Saturday, including in Manchester – where 16 arrests were made – Cardiff and Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
Two groups of protesters gathered underneath both the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in Parliament Square for the demonstration shortly after 1pm.
The individuals then wrote the message “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” with black markers on pieces of cardboard, and silently held the signs aloft as they were surrounded by Metropolitan Police officers and members of the media.
Some demonstrators could be seen lying on top of each other on the floor as police searched their bags and took their ID cards and handmade signs.
Officers have made 41 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organisation. One person has been arrested for common assault. The area was cleared within the last hour. — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) July 12, 2025
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 last of the protesters was lifted from the Nelson Mandela statue shortly after 2.30pm.
A Metropolitan Police officer at the scene told the PA news agency that 46 people had been arrested at the protest, but the force later confirmed on X that the figure stood at 42.
All but one of the arrests were for showing support for a proscribed organisation, while one person was arrested for common assault, the Met said.
Continued – it has now been confirmed that 46 people have been arrested in Parliament Square for holding cardboard signs, with news of arrests coming in from Manchester and threats of arrest in Cardiff (Caerdydd). News of solitary actions occurring elsewhere without arrest! pic.twitter.com/uKT79gSXsU — Defend our Juries (@DefendourJuries) July 12, 2025
Greater Manchester Police said it had arrested 16 people under the Terrorism Act 2000 after responding to a protest in St Peter’s Square, Manchester, at around 2.30pm on Saturday.
Scotland Yard said its stance remains that officers will act where criminal offences, including support of proscribed groups or organisations, are committed.
The force added that this includes “chanting, wearing clothing or displaying articles such as flags, signs or logos”.
Metropolitan Police officers detained the protesters before leading them to waiting police vans (James Manning/PA)
Police arrested 29 people at a similar protest in Parliament Square last weekend.
The terror group designation means that membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The move to ban the organisation came after two Voyager aircraft were damaged at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20, an incident claimed by Palestine Action, which police said caused about £7 million worth of damage.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action, saying that the vandalism of the planes was “disgraceful” and the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage”.