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| Britain | |
| London police intervene as Palestine Action protesters gather despite synagogue attack, | |
| 2025-10-05 | |
| [GEO.TV] London police arrested six people who displayed support for a banned pro-Palestinian group and carried away protesters who gathered for a demonstration, despite requests to call it off after a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester. Organisers refused requests by the police and government to call off the demonstration, which had been announced before the attack, to protest against the banning of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. regnum.ru has more: Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. 175 people were detained at a rally in support of Palestine in London. [Regnum] London police detained 175 people during a rally in support of the pro-Palestinian organization Palestine Action. This was reported by the city police on October 4. "The police operation in Trafalgar Square continues. As of 3:45 PM, officers have made 175 arrests in connection with support for a banned organization," X noted in a social media post. The protest was organized by the group Defend Our Juries, which has been campaigning against the ban on Palestine Action since August. The protests are intended to provoke mass disobedience and lead to the arrest of demonstrators. Police had previously called on the organizers to cancel the rally due to a lack of resources following the tightened security following the attack on a Manchester synagogue, but the activists refused. UK authorities designated Palestine Action a terrorist organization in July. Membership or support of the movement became a criminal offense, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
London police arrest 442 at anti-Israel protest, held despite pleas from cops, gov’t [IsraelTimes] Demonstrators claim right to protest for Palestine Action, a proscribed terror group, after police warned against drawing resources away from synagogues following deadly terror attack London police arrested over 440 protesters for supporting a banned pro-Palestinian group at a demonstration on Saturday, which went ahead despite requests to call it off after a deadly terror attack at a synagogue in Manchester during Yom Kippur. Congregation members Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed in the attack — the latter accidentally shot by an armed officer — in the northwestern English city on Thursday. Three other men are hospitalized with serious injuries. Police shot dead the terrorist, a British man of Syrian descent who counter-terrorism police said may have been inspired by extremist Islamist ideology. The attacker was on bail over an alleged rape but had not been charged. Organizers refused requests by the police and government to call off Saturday’s demonstration, which had been announced before the attack, to protest against the banning of the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws. Police said they had made 442 arrests at London’s Trafalgar Square after several hours — around half the number arrested at a similar protest in September. Calling for calm on X on Saturday morning, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I urge anyone thinking about protesting this weekend to recognize and respect the grief of British Jews.” “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together,” he said. Police arrested protesters in Trafalgar Square in central London as they wrote slogans on placards declaring support for Palestine Action, which was proscribed in July after members broke into an airbase and damaged military planes. Hundreds gathered for the protest, applauding and cheering those arrested as they were carried through the crowd by police without resisting. Onlookers chanted “shame on you” at officers. “I’m disgusted by the police actually, they shouldn’t be arresting non-violent protesters here,” said protester Angie Zelter. “We have a right to protest and Palestine Action is not a violent organization, should never have been proscribed in the first place.” Six people were arrested separately after unfurling a Palestine Action banner on Westminster Bridge outside parliament. The demonstration was the latest in a series of protests, during which hundreds have been arrested for defying the ban, which makes it an offense to show support for Palestine Action. A smaller demonstration organized by Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine attracted about 100 people in the city. There were no reports of arrests. Ahead of the protest, Greater Manchester’s police chief Sir Stephen Watson urged those planning on attending to reconsider, questioning if “this is really the right time,” given the terror attack days earlier, according to the UK’s ITV News. “You could do the responsible and sensitive thing and refrain, on this occasion, from protesting in a manner which is likely to add to the trauma currently being experienced by our Jewish community,” he suggested. Police said Saturday’s protests would draw resources away from security they have tightened around synagogues and mosques following Thursday’s attack. Defend Our Juries, which organized Saturday’s protest, has condemned the attack on the Jewish community in Manchester but rejected pleas to call off the demonstration. A spokesperson said the group “stood in solidarity” with the Jewish community over the attack, adding that “cancelling peaceful protests lets terror win.” Six people arrested on suspicion of terror-linked offenses over the attack remained in police custody on Saturday. Related: Palestine Action: 2025-10-03 Organizers spurn UK police’s plea to shelve anti-Israel rally after synagogue attack Palestine Action: 2025-09-30 London music festival cancels pro-Paleo Israeli DJ after outcry from Ravers for Palestine group Palestine Action: 2025-09-16 Sir Keir’s flagship immigration policy has been sunk by the first shell | |
| Posted by:Fred |