Over 100 Palestine Action protesters arrested

Police had warned demonstrators in advance that expressing support for the proscribed organization constituted a criminal offence. According to the statement, the arrests were made after those warnings were ignored.

The Metropolitan Police said in a post on X: "55 people were arrested in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action, which is a proscribed group."

The arrests were made under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which carries a maximum six-month prison sentence.

The force said a further nine people were arrested for supporting Palestine Action within a separate large-scale march to Whitehall on Saturday by the Palestine Coalition.

Greater Manchester Police said it arrested 18 people on suspicion of support of a proscribed organisation, while Avon and Somerset Police said 17 people were arrested during a protest in Bristol.  Eight people were arrested near Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori is expected to seek permission on Monday to challenge the government’s decision to ban the anti-Israel group.

The Home Office officially proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation on July 6, following a July 1 vote in the House of Commons, where the ban passed by a margin of 385 to 26.

The House of Lords also approved the designation, and the Court of Appeal in London rejected a legal challenge to block the ban later that same week.

The decision to ban Palestine Action came after members of the group vandalised two Voyager refuelling aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, spraying paint into their engines and causing an estimated $9.5 million in damages.