Proscribing Palestine Action has 'empowered' far-right, say protesters

Independent

6 days ago

Protesters in a UK town twinned with Al-Mawasi in Gaza blame the Palestine Action ban for an increase in violence and abuse against demonstrators.
An organiser of the Friends of Al-Mawasi group, based in Hastings, East Sussex, said the UK Government has 'empowered' extremists by trying to 'demonise' Palestine supporters.
In July, Hastings Borough Council passed a motion to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all arms sales to Israel and to support the town's friendship links with the people of Al-Mawasi – a section of the Gaza Strip.
Last month, at a fundraising walk, there were multiple alleged incidents of verbal and physical abuse from counter-protesters which were reported to the police.
A woman, waiting for the demonstrators at De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, was pushed to the ground and called a 'f****** terrorist' for wearing a keffiyeh, while a Jewish man, whose father escaped the Holocaust, was repeatedly called a Nazi by Israel supporters.
Both incidents were reported to Sussex Police after the walk on July 20.
On Sunday, roughly 100 protesters ran a second fundraising walk from Hastings beach along the coast to Bexhill 'in defiance' of the abuse.
Grace Lally, who helped set up the group and campaigned for the town to twin with Al-Mawasi, believes there is a 'clear link' between the Government action and the abuse.
She said: 'Those extremists have been empowered by a Government that says, people supporting Palestine are terrorists, d'you know what I mean?'
Ms Lally added: 'The reason it's being challenged in the court and the reason the court has given permission for a judicial review to be held is because of the chilling effect of that ruling which blurs the line between protest and terrorism.'
She said it did not matter that the Government had only proscribed Palestine Action rather than all protesters.
'That (the decision) I think has emboldened people on the far-right, extremists, to sort of see anyone who's supporting Palestine as a legitimate target,' Ms Lally said.
On Saturday, more than 500 people were arrested in central London for showing support for Palestine Action.
Richard Wistreich, a member of Jews for Justice Hastings, was one of the demonstrators who faced abuse in the July fundraising march.
He told the PA news agency that cars had parked on their route to Bexhill, with a couple of people waving Israeli flags and shouting abuse as the protesters passed by.
Mr Wistreich, whose father escaped Poland in the late 1930s, said: 'At one point one of them got out of the car and saw my T-shirt, which made it quite clear that I am proclaiming myself to be Jewish.
'So I was then very loudly told that I was not a Jew and in fact I was a Nazi, in a very, very aggressive manner.'
The woman wearing the keffiyeh, who wishes to remain anonymous, said a man approached her on the pavilion aggressively and said 'that scarf', which she ignored.
She said: 'I wasn't responding to him at all because he looked so angry and then he went 'you're a f****** terrorist' and then he proceeded to grab the scarf and pull me close to him.'
The woman said she tried to get his hands off her, but he pushed her to the ground and she hit her head, before two people intervened and pulled the man off her.
On Sunday afternoon, the protesters were wary of further incidents but bolstered by much greater numbers, and the vast majority of passers-by seemed supportive.
A few made comments which the protesters ignored.
Before the walk, Green Party councillor Yunis Smith said: 'We may see some people trying to antagonise us, cause issues, trying to be abusive, aggressive, offensive, let's remember the strength, perseverance and patience that our Palestinian brothers and sisters have when we face this.'
When links between the towns were first set up in 2022, Al-Mawasi, located in western Khan Younis, was a rural farming and fishing town with a population of 12,000.
According to the United Nations, there were 425,000 displaced Palestinians living in the area as of June 19, and the protesters said the figure is now closer to 600,000.
Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to ensure adequate and safe shelter for internally displaced people, as well as access to food, water, and medical care, until they can return to their homes.
A United Nations report released in June said that Israel had not made 'any effort' to comply with those laws since its offensive began.
'I can't understand how anybody, regardless of your political persuasion, can see this level of injustice and not break inside, I just don't, I don't get it,' said councillor Smith.
Ms Lally said it was 'bittersweet' to have the council finally twin with Al-Mawasi given the devastation in the area, but still felt it was a positive step.
'Palestine is made up of communities of people and those people, they're not going away, they will rebuild, this will end, there will be a future for them and twinning sort of is just a testament to that,' she said.