Police made 150 arrests as protesters gathered in central London to show support for Palestine Action despite its ban as a terrorist group.
The group Protect Our Jurors, which organised the demonstration, said between 600 and 700 people had gathered in Parliament Square on Saturday afternoon.
The Metropolitan Police said they would arrest anyone who expressed support for the Palestinian movement.
At 1:00 p.m., the crowd sitting on the grass in Parliament Square wrote on white placards: “I am against genocide, I support the Palestinian cause,” but the vast majority remained silent.
Several protesters, holding placards that read “Palestinian actions terrorise Britain while Hamas hides in hospitals, schools and mosques”, walked briefly along the crowd before being led away by police.
Other groups of protesters, who did not hold placards, gathered around statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in the square and chanted pro-Palestinian slogans.
Police officers held individual protesters seated on the edge of the grass and then escorted them through the growing crowd to police vans parked at the edge of the square.
A separate group of officers gave aid to a protester lying next to a fenced-off statue of Emmeline Pankhurst.
Later they began arresting protesters sitting in the centre of Parliament Square.
Police officers lifted the protesters – some sitting and some lying – from the ground before leading them away.
Passersby applauded the protesters and shouted “Shame on you!” at the police making the arrests.
The protesters, who were still sitting in the centre of Parliament Square, stood up at 2pm and raised their placards into the air.
One man was also arrested at a separate Palestinian Coalition march that started in Russell Square and headed towards Whitehall via the Aldwych and the Strand.
Scotland Yard said the arrest was made “for a poster in support of Palestinian action.”
Membership of or support for the Palestinian Action organisation is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Earlier this week, the first three people charged with supporting Palestinian action in England and Wales were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, Judith Murray, 71, and Fiona McLean, 53, have been charged with displaying an article in a public place that caused reasonable suspicion that they were supporters of a banned organisation, following their participation in a previous demonstration last month.
Hundreds of people have been arrested in a wave of “Protect Our Juries” protests across the UK since Home Secretary Yvette Cooper introduced the ban last month.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The Home Secretary has made it clear that the ban on Palestinian action is not about Palestine and does not affect the freedom to protest against Palestinian rights.
“This applies only to a specific and narrow organization whose activities do not reflect or represent the interests of thousands of people across the country who continue to exercise their fundamental rights to protest on various issues.
“Freedom to protest is a cornerstone of our democracy, and we defend it fiercely.
“The decision to ban was made based on strong safety recommendations and the unanimous opinion of the expert intergovernmental panel reviewing the bans.
“This follows serious attacks by the group that have resulted in violence, serious injuries and significant damage.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie