British police have arrested 46 pro-Palestine demonstrators during a protest in Parliament Square, marking the second consecutive weekend of unrest over the government’s decision to outlaw the activist group Palestine Action.
According to IRNA, the Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrests on Saturday, citing prior warnings that publicly supporting the banned group could be deemed a criminal offense under UK law. Last weekend’s demonstration led to 29 arrests, and authorities said they had cautioned participants about the legal implications.
The banned organization, Palestine Action, has gained prominence for its direct actions targeting arms companies linked to “Israel”—especially those involved in the ongoing war in Gaza, which rights advocates have described as genocidal.
This latest protest was organized by the campaign group Defend Our Juries. Small groups of activists gathered peacefully at the steps of the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues, waving Palestinian flags and displaying placards that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
The crackdown follows Parliament’s broad approval of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s move to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000—a decision that was also endorsed by the House of Lords. Under this ruling, membership in or public support for the group now carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The move has drawn widespread backlash from civil liberties organizations, hundreds of lawyers, cultural voices, and United Nations experts, who have labeled it “draconian.”
Despite filing an urgent appeal to challenge the ban through judicial review, Palestine Action’s legal effort was dismissed by the court in a last-minute decision.
