Around 100 protesters were arrested in London on Saturday for silently displaying signs supporting Palestine Action, while similar demonstrations in Belfast and Londonderry saw no police intervention. The stark contrast in police response highlights the contentious enforcement of the group's recent terror designation.
At Tavistock Square Gardens in central London, officers methodically arrested protesters during an hour-and-a-half-long rally organized by Defend Our Juries. The demonstrators sat silently holding placards reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." At least 15 police vans lined surrounding streets, with officers appearing to outnumber the roughly 100 protesters. Some elderly demonstrators were carried out of the square, their feet dragging.
Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, similar protests unfolded without arrests. In Belfast, around 60 to 80 activists gathered near the city's main court buildings at 1pm, with 15 to 20 holding identical placards. Four Police Service of Northern Ireland officers maintained a low-key presence, observing from a distance for the hour-long demonstration. The crowd dispersed peacefully shortly after 2pm. A similar scene played out later in Londonderry outside the Guildhall.
Protesters' motivations
Among those arrested in London was Carolyn Gelenter, a 67-year-old daughter of a Holocaust survivor, facing her second arrest for supporting Palestine Action. She told PA news agency before her arrest: «I wasn't sure I wanted to get arrested again. I thought I'd made my point, and it got lots of media attention, but I just was worried there weren't enough people and I'm really worried about the erosion of our democratic rights. Right to free speech, peaceful protest and free assembly is all being eroded. As a Jew, and the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, I just feel I cannot stand by and watch this happening. It feels really worrying what's going on in this country, let alone what's going on in Gaza and the West Bank. I can't be a bystander.»
Gil Murray, a 68-year-old from Norwich arrested for the sixth time, told PA before being carried off: «People are now increasingly in politics calling other people traitors or terrorists but for the Government to call people terrorists when they're not, and we all know that holding a placard is not terrorism, is quite another matter. We all know genocide is wrong. In the Second World War, we fought a war against this sort of thing and the guys who were invading other countries and committing genocide were the bad guys and now they seem to be the good guys. I just cannot believe how attitudes have changed. I think we are losing the peace. We are losing what we fought for in the Second World War.»
Context of the ban
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terror organization on July 5, following alleged attacks on a UK site of an Israel-based defence firm and two planes at RAF Brize Norton. The designation makes membership or support a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Surrounding demonstrators in London clapped and thanked those being arrested, with some shouting «Shame on the police.» A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries stated: «We are taking action today in the Peace Garden because it is a reminder that people acting in the name of Palestine Action only ever acted to save lives, never to take lives.» The organizers called the ban «an act of authoritarian overreach,» asserting «Protest is not terrorism.»
A court hearing is scheduled for next week regarding legal action by Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori against former home secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
