UK police arrest more than 365 at protest for banned Palestine Action group
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves and waving Palestinian flags, chanted "hands off Gaza", and held placards with the message "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action", video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
Israel denies allegations of being responsible for genocide in Gaza.
The Reuters video showed demonstrators who had gathered in Parliament Square by the Houses of Parliament being carried away by police. The crowd chanted "shame on you" at the police.
In a post on X, the police force said it had arrested 365 people for supporting a proscribed organisation.
It also arrested seven people for other offences including five for assaults on officers, adding none was seriously injured.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain's support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a minute ago
- The Guardian
Activists in Netherlands protest on roof of Microsoft site storing Israeli military data
Activists have staged a protest on the roof of a Microsoft datacentre in the Netherlands after revelations the Israeli military is storing large volumes of data in the country. Images posted on social media showed some of the activists blocking access to the large Microsoft facility in the north-west of the country on Sunday, while others scaled the building's roof and lit flares. The group, Geef Tegengas (Push Back), said its protest was in response to a recent Guardian investigation that revealed how the Israeli military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, has used Microsoft's Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of intercepted Palestinian phone calls. The joint investigation with the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call found that Microsoft's Azure servers in the Netherlands have held large volumes of Israeli military data. Leaked Microsoft documents suggest that by July this year 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data, equivalent to approximately 200m hours of audio files, was stored in Azure's servers in the Netherlands. In a statement, the activists said they were 'calling on all employees of the datacentre to lay down their work until all Israeli intelligence has been removed from the servers'. The Microsoft facility, a 14-hectares campus located near Middenmeer in the North Holland province, is part of a global network of datacentres used to store Azure customers' data. Disclosures about the Israeli military's reliance on the Netherlands-based datacentres prompted questions in the Dutch parliament this week at an emergency parliamentary debate about Israel's war on Gaza. During the debate, Christine Teunissen, an MP for the leftwing Party for the Animals, asked the government how it would prevent data held in the country from 'being used to commit genocide' in the besieged Palestinian territory. Caspar Veldkamp, the Dutch foreign minister, said in response he does not know exactly what information is available, but he would 'request further investigation', adding: 'If there are serious indications of criminal offences in that information, legal proceedings can of course be initiated, and that is then up to the public prosecution service.' Responding to the investigation this week, Microsoft said it had 'no information' about the kind of data stored by Unit 8200 in Azure. 'At no time during this engagement [with Unit 8200] has Microsoft been aware of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services,' a spokesperson said. On Saturday, the Guardian reported that senior Microsoft executives are scrambling to assess what data Unit 8200 holds in Azure, amid concerns among the company's leadership that its staff in Israel may have concealed key details about its work with the unit. A spokesperson for the Israeli military previously said its work with Microsoft is based on 'legally supervised agreements' and the military 'operates in accordance with international law, with the aim of countering terrorism and ensuring the security of the state and its citizens'.
The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
UN ambassadors discuss Israel's Gaza City seizure plan
The UN security council met on Sunday after Israel said its military would "take control" of Gaza City. Many of the UN's ambassadors condemned Israel's plans, including the coordination director of the OCHA, Ramesh Rajasingham, who said a "further human toll" would be taken if they were carried out
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How a photo of a malnourished child put The New York Times in Netanyahu's crosshairs
Benjamin Netanyahu is considering legal action against The New York Times over a photograph of a malnourished child he has described as 'fake'. The Israeli prime minister accused the newspaper of defaming Israel with its coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. A front-page photo of Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, an emaciated 18-month-old boy, sparked international outrage last month. The child's mother said he had been 'born healthy' before suffering severe malnutrition. Later reports revealed he had suffered from cerebral palsy and complications linked to a genetic disorder – details which were absent from the original piece. At a press conference announcing his plans to expand military operations and occupy Gaza City, Mr Netanyahu accused the international press of having bought Hamas propaganda 'hook, line, and sinker'. He then displayed a picture of The New York Times front page from July 25 with the word 'fake' branded across it, saying: 'I'm looking right now into the possibility of a governmental suit against The New York Times, because this is outrageous. 'These are the three most celebrated photos, and they're all fake. We won't allow it to go unchallenged, and this is the purpose of this press conference. I hope you can open your eyes to the simple fact that Hamas lies.' The New York Times updated the story to give readers 'a greater understanding' of Mohammed's situation, but defended its reporting. A spokesman of the newspaper said: 'After publication, we learned that a child shown in that story – in addition to being severely malnourished – also had pre-existing health problems. That additional information gave readers a greater understanding of his situation.' 'Attempts to threaten independent media providing vital information and accountability to the public are unfortunately an increasingly common playbook.' The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a globally recognised system for classifying the severity and magnitude of food insecurity and malnutrition. The IPC says that one in three people is now going without food for days at a time in Gaza. Hospitals have treated more than 20,000 children for acute malnutrition since April. At least 16 children under five have died from hunger-related causes since mid-July. 'The worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip,' the IPC warned. Satellite imagery released last month showed the hunger crisis was visible from space, as thousands of Palestinians could be seen crowding around aid trucks in desperation. Under heavy international pressure, Israel last week announced measures to let more aid into Gaza. Mr Netanyahu insisted that 'hundreds of trucks' had been allowed in, and said that if Israel was implementing 'a starvation policy', then 'no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war'. He pointed to disturbing images of Evyatar David, a 24-year-old Israeli hostage who looked severely malnourished in a video released by Hamas. He said: 'The only ones who are being deliberately starved in Gaza are our hostages.' Several hundred Palestinians have been killed by Israel Defence Forces soldiers since May while heading toward food distribution sites and aid convoys, according to witnesses, local health officials and the United Nations human rights office. The Israeli military claimed it had only fired warning shots and disputes the toll, which is thought to be well over 1,000 since May. Speaking during a meeting with Sir Keir Starmer in Scotland last month, Donald Trump said there was 'real starvation' in Gaza. The US president added: 'Those children look very hungry... that's real starvation stuff. Nobody's done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess... I told Israel maybe they have to do it a different way.'
