Police arrest dozens at London rally supporting Palestine Action

The protest is the first in support of the proscribed group since Andy Burnham became prime minister.

British Police have arrested 77 people as crowds gathered outside a London courthouse to declare support for Palestine Action, which is proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation in the UK.

The rally on Thursday outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court was organised by the Defend Our Juries activist group to picket the start of hearings against the first of thousands of people charged with voicing support for Palestine Action.

Defend Our Juries says it is seeking to safeguard the legal process in the UK. Critics accuse the government of undermining civil liberties in an attempt to shield Israel from the consequences of the genocidal war it launched in Gaza almost three years ago.

“Expressing support for Palestine Action is an offence under the Terrorism Act. Officers have begun making arrests,” London’s Metropolitan Police Service said in a post on X.

In pictures posted online, dozens of people could be seen outside the court in central London.

In a post on X, Defend Our Juries said that “hundreds are outside Westminster Magistrates today to say this is not terrorism!” The number of attendees has not been confirmed.

Several protesters waved Palestinian flags in support of those in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, which is also experiencing a surge in violence by Israelis from illegal settlements, protected by the army.

Rights groups say the rapid increase in settler violence there is a direct result of Israeli government policy.

The demonstration in London is the first in support of Palestine Action since Andy Burnham became prime minister earlier this month and leader of the Labour Party.

Israel’s assault on Gaza was not a priority for the government during Keir Starmer’s tenure, and critics have accused his administration of being complicit.

Since launching his campaign to become prime minister, Burnham has attempted to reframe Labour’s foreign policy. Before taking office, he conceded that Labour “didn’t get it right” on Gaza and said he was “sorry”.

However, rights groups say his apology is meaningless unless it is backed by action.

Burnham has already granted the United States permission to use some UK military bases to carry out “defensive” strikes against Iran, a conflict that began on February 28 and which several legal experts have described as illegal.

The leader of the UK Green Party, Zack Polanski, has meanwhile demanded that Burnham reverse Palestine Action’s proscription.

“It is within the Prime Ministers power to scrap this proscription and end these dystopian scenes for good. There is simply no excuse in a democracy for a crackdown in support for protest groups like this,” Polanski said in a post on X.

Polanski is the Greens’ first Jewish leader and has accused the right-wing press of erasing his religious identity because of his support for Palestine and opposition to Israel’s genocide.

In another post on X, Defend Our Juries sarcastically criticised the UK’s terrorism laws, which outlaw expressing support for Palestine Action.

“Britain today: An elderly woman in a wheelchair is escorted away by the police and risks up to 14 years in prison for supporting terrorism since the Home Secretary proscribed a protest group in 2025.

Her crime? She said: ‘I support Palestine Action and I encourage you to join’,” it said.

New appeal given green light

Later on Thursday, it was reported that the UK’s ‌Supreme Court has said it will ⁠hear another ⁠appeal against the “terrorist” designation imposed on Palestine Action.

A lower court ruling in June found that the government’s decision to ban the group was lawful, citing its “support for violence,” TheHigh Court had ruled in February that the ban unlawfully interfered with freedom of expression.

Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action ‌in 2020 and brought the legal challenge against proscription, was granted permission to appeal against that decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s website showed.

She said in a statement: “We will continue to fight this proscription all the way to the Supreme Court and, if necessary, to ⁠the European Court of Human ⁠Rights to overturn what has become one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history.”