Protests held across UK supporting banned Palestine Action despite arrests
Demonstrations have been taking place on Saturday in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Truro and London as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries, which has already seen dozens arrested.
London's Metropolitan police said 55 people have been arrested Saturday in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of the group.
The Met police said 70 people were arrested at similar demonstrations in Parliament Square over the past two weekends, while Defend Our Juries said a total of 120 had so far been arrested across the UK.
It comes ahead of a High Court hearing on Monday in which the cofounder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, will ask for the green light to challenge the home secretary's decision to ban the group under 'anti-terror' laws.
The ban means that 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, putting the group on a par with armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS).
Authorities have beefed up police presence in Westminster in the wake of the rallies.
A counterprotest by the pro-Israeli Stop the Hate group will also take place in London on Saturday.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said those expressing support for Palestine Action 'will likely be committing an offence and will very likely be arrested'.
Five people appeared in court on Saturday over a Palestine Action protest at an Israeli-linked defence firm's site.
Members of the organisation, allegedly armed with sledgehammers and whips, are accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems site near Patchway, Bristol, in the early hours of August 6, 2024, 'counter-terrorism' police said.
More than 2 million pounds of damage ($2.68 million) was caused, and police officers and a security guard were assaulted, the Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.
Prosecutors claim the alleged offences had a 'terrorist connection'. The five involved were charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder.
Palestine Action describes itself as 'a pro-Palestinian organisation which disrupts the arms industry in the United Kingdom with direct action'.
Since its founding in July 2020, it has carried out hundreds of protests across the UK aimed at disrupting the operations of companies they accuse of profiting from Israeli military operations, with a particular focus on the Israeli arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems.
The group's tactics typically involve breaking into facilities, chaining themselves to machinery, daubing buildings with red paint and destroying equipment.
The UK has seen hundreds of thousands of people peacefully protest on a near-weekly basis, calling for an end to Israel's genocidal war in Gaza in the last 22 months.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
UK to airdrop aid in Gaza, evacuate children needing medical care
The United Kingdom says it is working with Jordan on 'forward plans' to airdrop aid into besieged Gaza and evacuate children needing medical care as Israel's forced starvation and bombardment of Palestinians fuel global outrage. Two infants on Saturday became the latest Palestinian children to die from malnutrition. The total number of starvation deaths in the territory has risen to more than 120, including more than 80 children. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the proposal on Saturday in an emergency call with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. In a readout of the call, the UK government said the leaders had agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently needed ceasefire into lasting peace,' according to Britain's Press Association. 'The prime minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to airdrop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' the readout said. Starmer's Labour government has been roundly accused at home of doing too little too late to alleviate the intense suffering of Palestinians in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK have been protesting weekly against Israel's genocidal war since October 2023, making it clear they feel their voices aren't being heard. Public anger has been further stoked as police in the UK arrested more than 100 people at peaceful protests across the country last weekend that called for a ban on the campaign group Palestine Action to be reversed. Demonstrations took place on Saturday in Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Truro and London as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. Starmer is also facing mounting pressure to recognise a Palestinian state as France has said it will do at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September. More than 200 British parliamentarians urged the prime minister to take this course of action this week. There has been further controversy over accusations the UK government has continued with arms sales to Israel despite stating it had scaled back weapons sales. A report in May found that UK firms have continued to export military items to Israel despite a government suspension in September amid allegations that the UK Parliament has been deliberately 'misled'. The report by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progressive International and Workers for a Free Palestine revealed that the UK sent '8,630 separate munitions since the suspensions took effect, all in the category 'Bombs, Grenades, Torpedoes, Mines, Missiles And Similar Munitions Of War And Parts Thereof-Other'. 'Waiting for the green light to get into Gaza' In the meantime, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), said proposed airdrops of aid would be an expensive, inefficient 'distraction' that could kill starving Palestinians. Israel said on Friday that it will allow airdrops of food and supplies from foreign countries into Gaza in the coming days in response to critical food shortages caused by its punishing months-long blockade. But in a social media post, Lazzarini said the airdrops would 'not reverse the deepening starvation' and called instead for Israel to 'lift the siege, open the gates [and] guarantee safe movements [and] dignified access to people in need.' Airdrops, he said, are 'expensive, inefficient [and] can even kill starving civilians'. 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will,' he said, calling on Israel to allow the UN and its partners to operate at scale in Gaza 'without bureaucratic or political hurdles'. He said UNRWA has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt 'waiting for the green light to get into Gaza'. 'Driving aid through is much easier, more effective, faster, cheaper and safer' than airdrops, he said, adding that it is also more dignified for the people of Gaza. More than 100 aid and human rights groups this week called on governments to take urgent action as a hunger crisis engulfs Gaza, including by demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid. In a statement signed and released on Wednesday by 109 organisations, including Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Doctors Without Borders (also known as MSF), the groups warned that deepening starvation of the population was spreading across the besieged enclave.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
UK blasts Hong Kong rewards for help to catch activists overseas
The United Kingdom has condemned Hong Kong authorities for offering payment in exchange for assisting in the arrest of pro-democracy activists living in Britain, even as the British government begins the process of reinstating an extradition deal with the autonomous Chinese city. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a joint statement on Friday shortly after Hong Kong announced cash rewards for information leading to the arrest of 19 pro-democracy activists based abroad, including in Britain, who are accused of violating the strict national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. In their statement, Lammy and Cooper called on China to stop targeting opposition voices in Britain. 'The Hong Kong Police Force's issuing of further arrest warrants and bounties on individuals living in the UK is another example of transnational repression,' their statement read. The bounties range from 200,000 to one million Hong Kong dollars (about $25,000-$125,000), depending on the individual the Hong Kong authorities seek to arrest. This is the fourth time Hong Kong authorities have made reward offers, which have drawn strong criticism from Western countries, to which China, in turn, has denounced as 'interference'. In their statement, the two British ministers said that 'this Government will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong, including those who have made the [United Kingdom] their home. We take the protection of their rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously'. But a recent proposal by the British government to reform extradition rules has prompted serious concerns, with some fearing it could pave the way for a resumption of extraditions to Hong Kong, which have been suspended since the 2020 national security law was enacted. On Friday, Al Jazeera reported that the UK Home Office applied to Parliament to make changes to the country's legislation regarding extradition on July 17, followed by a letter to Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp the next day. 'It is in our national interest to have effective extradition relationships to prevent criminals from evading justice and the UK becoming a haven for criminals,' the July 18 letter from Security Minister Dan Jarvis said. The Home Office also plans to restore an extradition framework with Chile and Zimbabwe, according to the letter, which was shared on X by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns. Cases for Hong Kong and Zimbabwe would both be considered on a 'case-by-case basis', Jarvis said. About 150,000 Hong Kong nationals migrated to the UK under a special visa scheme introduced in 2021. In 2024, legislators in Hong Kong approved a new national security law – referred to as Article 23 – that gave the government new powers to crack down on all forms of dissent on the grounds of alleged treason, espionage, sedition and external interference in Hong Kong's internal affairs. Since then, Hong Kong has been offering bounties for the arrest of activists who have fled the city while facing charges related to the pro-democracy protests. Hong Kong, a former British colony, is a particular sticking point for the UK due to its historical relationship and the sharp decline in political freedoms in Hong Kong since China imposed controversial national security legislation in 2020. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of a high degree of autonomy, including freedom of speech, under a 'one country, two systems' formula.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Two teens jailed over machete murder of 14-year-old on London bus
Two British teenagers have been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, for stabbing to death a 14-year-old boy on a London bus in broad daylight earlier this year. Judge Mark Lucraft at London's Old Bailey court sentenced the pair, who cannot be named due to their age, to life in prison on Friday. He ordered that they be considered for parole after 15 years and 110 days in detention. The teenagers stabbed 14-year-old Kelyan Bokassa 27 times with machetes on the bus in the Woolwich area of southeast London on January 7. He later died from his injuries. The attackers – aged 16 and 15 at the time of the time of murder – were arrested later that month. The pair pleaded guilty to murder in May. The attack has reignited concern around youth gang violence and the ongoing problem of knife crime that has plagued the British capital and other cities in the United Kingdom for years. Across Britain, knife crime is up by nearly 80 percent since 2015. Last year, 10 teenagers were fatally stabbed in London alone, after 18 were killed in 2023, according to London's Metropolitan Police. In September last year, a 15-year-old boy – reportedly a close friend of Bokassa – was also stabbed to death in Woolwich, in what a prosecutor described as gang retaliation. In August last year, in another incident that sent shockwaves across Britain, a teenager carried out a deadly stabbing spree in the seaside town of Southport, which killed three young girls. Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lee, whose team led the Met investigation into Bokassa's murder, said the 'harsh reality in London is that violence disproportionately affects young Black men and boys'. 'The fact we're seeing so many teenagers like Kelyan die should be at the forefront of the minds of every politician, every policymaker and everyone who wants better for children growing up in London,' she said. Judge Lucraft said one of the perpetrators was himself a 'victim of child criminal exploitation' by gangs, adding that he had faced 'a history of trauma'. He added that the second boy was also exploited by gangs from the age of 12 and experienced 'undiagnosed developmental needs'. 'It is sadly an all too frequent senseless loss of yet another young life to the horrors of knife crime', which 'no sentence of a court can ever truly reflect', Lucraft said. Shortly after the murder, Bokassa's mother, Marie Bokassa, told the press her son was also exploited by gangs in the Woolwich area of southeast London. Addressing the court on Friday, she asked: 'How can children behave like this?' 'What have the children been exposed to, to show such behaviour as this?'
