UK Police Arrest 522 for Supporting Banned Pro-Palestine Group in London

LONDON: London’s Metropolitan Police announced on Sunday that 522 people were arrested the previous day for breaching anti-terrorism laws by supporting the recently banned group Palestine Action.

According to the police, all but one of the arrests took place during a protest at Parliament Square, where participants were allegedly displaying placards backing Palestine Action. The remaining arrest occurred at nearby Russell Square during a Palestine Coalition march opposing Israel’s war in Gaza.

The arrests are believed to be the highest number ever recorded at a single protest in the UK capital. Police also made 10 additional arrests, including six for assaulting officers. None of the officers sustained serious injuries.

The force revealed that the average age of those detained was 54, with six teenagers, 97 people in their 70s, and 15 in their 80s. Men and women were arrested in roughly equal numbers.

Palestine Action was outlawed on July 5, shortly after it claimed responsibility for breaking into an air force base in southern England, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) worth of damage to two aircraft. The group says its actions are in response to the UK’s indirect military support for Israel amid the Gaza conflict.

The UK’s interior ministry has accused Palestine Action of carrying out other “serious attacks” involving violence, significant injuries, and extensive criminal damage. Interior Minister Yvette Cooper defended the ban, stating, “UK national security and public safety must always be our top priority. The assessments are very clear this is not a non-violent organization.”

However, critics, including the United Nations, Amnesty International, and Greenpeace, have condemned the proscription as excessive and a threat to free speech. Greenpeace UK co-executive director Areeba Hamid accused the government of turning “the Met into thought police” and “direct action into terrorism.”

Since the ban took effect, UK police have made dozens of similar arrests. On Saturday, the Met confirmed that 30 of those detained had been arrested at earlier Palestine Action protests. Eighteen people remained in custody as of Sunday afternoon but were expected to be released on bail within hours.

Police said counter-terrorism officers will now prepare case files to secure charges, with 26 files from earlier arrests on July 5 set to be submitted to prosecutors “imminently.” Being a member of or showing support for Palestine Action is now a criminal offense in the UK, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.