Greenpeace U.K. boss arrested over protest at U.S. Embassy in London over support for Israel
London
— One of the heads of Greenpeace U.K. was among six activists arrested Thursday after dumping red dye into a pond outside the U.S. Embassy in London, the group said. The activists were protesting continued weapons sales by the United States to Israel amid the ongoing
war in Gaza
.
"We took this action because U.S. weapons continue to fuel an indiscriminate war that's seen bombs dropped on schools and hospitals, entire neighborhoods blasted to rubble, and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives obliterated," Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace U.K., said in a statement, confirming that co-executive director Will McCallum was among those detained. "As the biggest supplier of weapons to the Israeli military, the U.S. government bears a heavy responsibility for the horrors unfolding in Gaza."
London's Metropolitan Police said five arrests had taken place outside the U.S. embassy at 7:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Eastern) after officers noticed people putting dye into the pond. The reason for the discrepancy in the number of people arrested was not immediately clear.
"The group made off but officers responded quickly and carried out a search of the area," the police said. "Five people have so far been arrested nearby on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage."
The police said there was no security breach of the U.S. embassy grounds during the incident.
"The pond is accessible via a public footpath. There was no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter of the site," they said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
36 minutes ago
- The Hill
Detained Columbia graduate describes ‘visceral' harm of missing son's birth
Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over his campus activism, said he has suffered 'visceral' harm after missing the birth of his son while in federal custody. 'The most immediate and visceral harms I have experienced directly relate to the birth of my son, Deen. Instead of holding my wife's hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone,' Khalil, a green card holder, wrote in court documents filed Thursday. 'I listened to her pain, trying to comfort her while 70 other men slept around me,' he added. The Trump administration said it plans to revoke Khalil's legal status and urged him to self deport, according to reports from the Associated Press. Khalil was denied permission to go to the birth of his first child last month. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initiated removal efforts for Khalil in March citing a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act over the government's allegation that he participated in pro-Hamas rhetoric at campus protests amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 'To not be able to see them, hold them, speak with them freely, enjoy everything I imagined our first days as a family would be like, is devastating. Worst still is knowing that they must face all the fear and notoriety of this case without me,' Khalil wrote in this week's court documents. 'The Rubio Determination is casting a shadow of suspicion across our entire family. I could never have imagined this would happen, and it is horrifying to experience this as a husband and father,' he added. Khalil, in the court filings, denied accusations that he supports Hamas but questioned the Israeli government's strikes on 'innocent Palestinians.' Democrats and advocacy organizations have urged officials to immediately release Khalil, alleging that his constitutional right to free speech has been ignored. 'This arrest is unprecedented, illegal, and un-American. The federal government is claiming the authority to deport people with deep ties to the U.S. and revoke their green cards for advocating positions that the government opposes. To be clear: The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S. The government's actions are obviously intended to intimidate and chill speech on one side of a public debate,' Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project said in a statement. The State Department did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lebanese army threatens to end cooperation with ceasefire committee after Israeli strikes in Beirut
The military force complained that Israel's strikes weakened the role of Lebanon's army, according to the report. Lebanon's army threatened to withdraw cooperation with the ceasefire committee monitoring the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire over Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, the Associated Press reported on Friday. The military force complained that Israel's strikes weakened the role of Lebanon's army, according to the report. The warning came after the IDF said it struck Hezbollah's underground drone manufacturing facilities in the southern Beirut suburbs. While Israel warned civilians to evacuate ahead of the strikes, much criticism was directed at the fact the attacks were carried out on the eve of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. 'The Israeli enemy violations of the deal and its refusal to respond to the committee is weakening the role of the committee and the army,' the Lebanese army said in its statement, adding that it would discontinue cooperation with the committee 'when it comes to searching posts' should the strikes continue. France condemned the Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburb, Dahiyeh, on Thursday in a Friday statement on X/Twitter, and called on Israel to completely withdraw from Lebanese territory "as quickly as possible." "France calls on all the parties to abide by the ceasefire signed on November 26, 2024, in order to ensure the safety of civilian populations on both sides of the Blue Line," the statement reads. "In accordance with the agreement, the dismantling of unauthorized military sites on Lebanese soil remains a priority for the Lebanese Armed Forces, which have been engaged in this task for several months, with assistance from the monitoring mechanism and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon."
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-US mulls giving millions to controversial Gaza aid foundation, sources say
By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The State Department is weighing giving $500 million to the new foundation providing aid to war-shattered Gaza, according to two knowledgeable sources and two former U.S. officials, a move that would involve the U.S. more deeply in a controversial aid effort that has been beset by violence and chaos. The sources and former U.S. officials, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said that money for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) would come from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is being folded into the U.S. State Department. The plan has met resistance from some U.S. officials concerned with the deadly shootings of Palestinians near aid distribution sites and the competence of the GHF, the two sources said. The GHF, which has been fiercely criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for an alleged lack of neutrality, began distributing aid last week amid warnings that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli aid blockade, which was lifted on May 19 when limited deliveries were allowed to resume. The foundation has seen senior personnel quit and had to pause handouts twice this week after crowds overwhelmed its distribution hubs. The State Department and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters has been unable to establish who is currently funding the GHF operations, which began in Gaza last week. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites. On Thursday, Reuters reported that a Chicago-based private equity firm, McNally Capital, has an "economic interest" in the for-profit U.S. contractor overseeing the logistics and security of GHF's aid distribution hubs in the enclave. While U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Israel say they don't finance the GHF operation, both have been pressing the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it. The U.S. and Israel argue that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. Hamas has denied that. USAID has been all but dismantled. Some 80 percent of its programs have been canceled and its staff face termination as part of President Donald Trump's drive to align U.S. foreign policy with his "America First" agenda. One source with knowledge of the matter and one former senior official said the proposal to give the $500 million to GHF has been championed by acting deputy USAID Administrator Ken Jackson, who has helped oversee the agency's dismemberment. The source said that Israel requested the funds to underwrite GHF's operations for 180 days. The Israeli government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The two sources said that some U.S. officials have concerns with the plan because of the overcrowding that has affected the aid distribution hubs run by GHF's contractor, and violence nearby. Those officials also want well-established non-governmental organizations experienced in running aid operations in Gaza and elsewhere to be involved in the operation if the State Department approves the funds for GHF, a position that Israel likely will oppose, the sources said. Gaza hospital officials have said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near GHF's distribution points between June 1-3. Since launching its operation, the GHF has opened three hubs, but over the past two days, only two of them have been functioning. Witnesses blamed Israeli soldiers for the killings. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots on two days, while on Tuesday it said soldiers had fired at Palestinian "suspects" advancing towards their positions.
