London police arrest 150 at pro-Palestine Action protest

London, Sep 7 (IANS) Police made around 150 arrests at a protest in London in support of advocacy network Palestine Action, London's Metropolitan Police said on social media.

Police added on Saturday that the offences included "assault on a police officer" and "expressing support for a proscribed organisation".

According to Defend Our Juries, the campaign group organising the protest, nearly 1,500 people gathered to hold signs reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action" at Parliament Square near the Westminster Abbey.

On August 9, a total of 532 people were arrested for another pro-Palestine Action protest, Xinhua news agency reported.

In July, Members of Parliament voted to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group after its members broke into Royal Air Force Brize Norton in June.

Some of the alleged offences committed included "assault on a police officer," the Metropolitan Police said on X.

“Officers … have been subjected to an exceptional level of abuse, including punches, kicks, spitting and objects being thrown, in addition to verbal abuse,” the police said in a post on X.

Palestine Action was banned under the UK's Terrorism Act of 2000 following acts of vandalism including at a Royal Air Force base, which caused an estimated £7 million ($10 million) in damage.

Critics, including the United Nations and campaign groups such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace, have condemned the ban as legal overreach and a threat to free speech.

More than 800 people had already been arrested before Saturday's demonstration, with 138 charged with supporting or encouraging support for a proscribed organisation.

Most face six months in prison if convicted but organisers of the rallies could be sentenced to up to 14 years if found guilty.

The government has been granted permission to appeal an earlier ruling which allowed Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori to challenge the ban.

A separate pro-Palestinian demonstration saw several thousand people take to the streets elsewhere in London on Saturday, as Israel launched new strikes on Gaza, with the stated aim of seizing Gaza City to defeat the militant group Hamas.

--IANS

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