Police arrested more than 400 people on Saturday, September 6 in London during a demonstration of support to the Palestinian Action Group, in addition to hundreds of others in the United Kingdom since the highly criticized prohibition of this organization.
Police had warned that it would challenge anyone who would show their explicit support for this movement, classified as “terrorist” by the Labor Government in early July after the acts of vandalism, particularly on the basis of the Air Force.
But several hundred people have challenged the risk from noon in front of the British Parliament, wielding signs “I oppose the genocide. I support Palestine’s action.”
“Our government has decided to prohibit an organization. It moves completely and should spend more time to try to stop the genocide (in Gaza) instead of trying to stop the demonstrations,” he denounced the AFP Nigel, 62, manager of a recycling company that has support to the action of Palestine. He was arrested by the police, under the shouts of “shame” launched by other protesters, an AFP journalist said.
Tensions between police and protesters
The tensions took place between the police and the participants who tried to prevent arrests.
In total, the Metropolitan Police announced at night that it had arrested at least 425 people, including most support for a prohibited organization and more than 25 for violence in its agents.
“Our agents were beaten, spit on him and attacked by objects launched by the protesters,” said Claire Smart, who coordinated the order to maintain order, denouncing a “intolerable” level of violence.
The British capital police said they had deployed more than 2,500 agents to supervise a series of pro-palestinian demonstrations during the day, including a support march that, according to her, brought together more than 20,000 people and only gave rise to “very few arrests.”
“No terrorists”
But the situation was more tense during the distinctive rally that had been organized by the group defends our jurors, who protests against the prohibition of Palestine’s action. This group claimed to denounce “British complicity” with the state of Israel, particularly in the issue of weapons sales.
This measure was considered “disproportionate” by the UN and denounced by human rights organizations and personalities such as British filmmaker Ken Loach or the Irish novelist Sally Rooney.
“We are not terrorists (…) we must say that Palestine’s action has the right to exist. The prohibition must be canceled,” insisted Polly Smith, a 74 -year -old withdrawal in the rally on Saturday.
More than 800 arrests since July
Before Saturday mobilization, more than 800 people had already been arrested since July, and 138 charged support or incitement to support a terrorist organization. Most of them risk six months in prison. Those considered meetings organizers are risking up to 14 years in prison.
The co -Founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, was authorized to dispute the prohibition of movement. An audience is scheduled for November.
Important support manifestations for the Palestinians regularly in the United Kingdom have been carried out since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented attack in Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The latter led to the death of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.
Israeli reprisals left at least 64,368 dead in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, placed under the authority of Hamas, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Source: BFM TV
