Arrests pile up in London as police battle to detain hundreds of defiant Palestine Action protesters who demonstrated despite desperate pleas from authorities and the Prime Minister to call it off.
According to Defend Our Juries, the group behind the protest, over a thousand people gathered in Trafalgar Square to “oppose genocide and the Palestine Action ban.”
At 1pm silent protesters sat down and held up signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, sparking a police response of mass arresting anyone holding up the banned sign.
Palestine Action are a direct action group which the British government proscribed as a terrorist organisation on 5 July 2025, following a security breach at RAF Brize Norton and vandalism of a plane by members of the pro-Palestine group.
Police spent several hours trying to arrest all the peaceful protestors under the Terrorism Act. 5Pillars witnessed large groups of onlookers heckling police and chanting pro-Palestine chants.
Many of the protesters were retirees but the protesters flouting the law also included Jews, Muslims, students, medics, disabled people and anti-war activists.
At the time of publishing this article, the Metropolitan Police claimed that 355 people have been arrested which included six people who were cuffed after a banner was unfurled on Westminster Bridge prior to the main demonstration at Trafalgar Square.
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The giant bridge banner also read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
The demonstration went ahead despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling on protesters to abandoned the action to “respect the grief of British Jews”, following Thursday’s killing of two people in an attack on a Manchester synagogue.
The Metropolitan Police also said a day earlier that the protest should not go ahead, using the argument that police resources would be pulled away from areas they are more needed.
In a statement published on X on Friday, the Met said: “The horrific terrorist attack that took place in Manchester yesterday will have caused significant fear and concern in communities across the UK, including here in London.
“Yet at a time when we want to be deploying every available officer to ensure the safety of those communities, we are instead having to plan for a gathering of more than 1,000 people in Trafalgar Square on Saturday in support of a terrorist organisation.
( Raşid Necati Aslım – Anadolu Agency )
“By choosing to encourage mass law-breaking on this scale, Defend Our Juries are drawing resources away from the communities of London at a time when they are needed most.”
However, Defend Our Juries refused to cancel the demo, instead argued back by saying on X: “Don’t arrest us then… We are peacefully protesting against UK complicity in genocide. Deal with actual terrorism.”
This week also saw the attendance of a group of Muslim-led witness bloc which brought activists and pro-Palestine activists together to witness the protest and express solidarity with those pressuring the government to reverse the Palestine Action ban.
Spearheading the bloc was Cage International who told 5Pillars: “Civil disobedience and Direct Action are necessary, and we must ask: where do we stand in this struggle?
“The genocide in Gaza is not sustained by Israel alone. It is enabled by Western governments that provide military aid, diplomatic cover, and financial resources, funded through our taxes. Weapons manufactured in the UK and US are used in the killing of Palestinians. This is why acts of direct resistance from the Sumud flotilla to groups targeting arms factories — are so vital.”
At least 67,074 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, the Health Ministry said on Saturday, Anadolu reports.
A ministry statement said 66 bodies were brought to hospitals in the last 24 hours, while 265 people were injured, bringing the total number of injuries in the Israeli onslaught to 169,430.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the statement added.
It also noted that six Palestinians were killed and 40 others injured by Israeli army fire while trying to access humanitarian aid in the last 24 hours. This brings the total number of Palestinians killed while seeking aid to 2,603, with more than 19,094 others wounded since May 27.
