More than 500 people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday in support of banned group Action for Palestine, according to police.“523 people were arrested today for supporting banned organizations,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.Earlier in the day, police had detained more than 200 protesters during a sit-in in Trafalgar Square organized in support of Palestinian action banned in the UK. Police were seen chasing activists away from the area, while other demonstrators clapped and cheered. Participants held placards in support of the group, leading to further arrests.Action Palestine was listed as a terrorist organization in July last year, making joining or expressing support for the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison. In February, London’s High Court upheld a legal challenge to the ban, ruling that it violated the right to free speech. The government has since been allowed to appeal the ruling.The Metropolitan Police temporarily suspended arrests following the High Court ruling, but later confirmed in March that enforcement would resume.Nearly 3,000 people, mostly holding placards supporting Palestinian action, have been arrested since the group was banned, and hundreds are now facing charges.One of the protesters, Denis MacDermot, 73, from Edinburgh, said he had been arrested before but returned without hesitation. “I am a supporter of these great people,” he said, pointing to other protesters, adding that if the court proceedings had been conclusive, “there would be no need to do all this.”Organizers Defend Our Jury said about 500 people took part in Saturday’s protest, which they said was against “the British government’s complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the misguided crackdown on peaceful protests at home”.They also claimed that police “chose to arrest the group despite the government banning it and the High Court ruling that it was illegal, and leading lawyers warning that any arrests would be unlawful”.The ban adds Palestinian action to a list of banned groups that also includes the Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, and triggered widespread backlash.A judge has now suspended all trials related to individuals accused of supporting Palestinian actions, with a full review of the case scheduled for July 30.Action for Palestine was founded in 2020 and according to its now-blocked website, its goal is to end “global involvement in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”The group has primarily targeted weapons facilities, particularly those associated with the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems.
