Arabic version: اعتقال عشرات في تجمع بلندن دعماً لفلسطين أكشن

According to Al Jazeera, British police made dozens of arrests as crowds gathered outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London to declare support for Palestine Action, which is proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation in the United Kingdom.

The Thursday rally was organised by the Defend Our Juries activist group as hearings began for the first of thousands of people charged with voicing support for Palestine Action. London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a post on X that expressing support for the group is an offence under the Terrorism Act and that officers had begun making arrests.

Images posted online showed dozens of people outside the central London court. Defend Our Juries said “hundreds” were present to say “this is not terrorism!”, though the number of attendees was not confirmed. Several demonstrators waved Palestinian flags in support of people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The demonstration was the first in support of Palestine Action since Andy Burnham became prime minister and Labour Party leader earlier in July. Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for Burnham to reverse the proscription, saying it was within the prime minister’s power to end what he described as “dystopian scenes”. Defend Our Juries also criticised the terrorism laws in a separate post, referring to an elderly woman in a wheelchair who it said was escorted away by police.