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UK police arrest Palestine Action supporters ahead of Supreme Court hearing / Photo: CARLOS JASSO - AFP
UK police arrest Palestine Action supporters ahead of Supreme Court hearing
London police arrested Saturday dozens of Palestine Action supporters, who protested there and in Edinburgh days before the Supreme Court hears an appeal over the government's contentious ban of the group.
London's Metropolitan Police began detaining people shortly after hundreds began a lunchtime "mass action" outside the US Embassy in the British capital, an AFP reporter witnessed.
The force said in a mid-afternoon update that 48 people had been arrested and that officers were "continuing to make arrests".
"The majority of arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organisation," it added on X.
Officers have arrested nearly 4,000 people for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, according to police and campaigners, after the British government outlawed it under anti-terror laws in July 2025.
Many of those arrested, including senior citizens and Holocaust survivors, have displayed signs at rallies reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
In July, hearings related to more than 2,000 of those cases were postponed until later this year.
The ban puts the group on a blacklist that also includes Palestinian militants Hamas and the Lebanese Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
It made membership of, or support for, Palestine Action a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The group's co-founder Huda Ammori has legally challenged the ban, arguing it was "disproportionate" and impacted human rights.
The Supreme Court is set to hold a two-day hearing on the high-profile case from Wednesday, after the Court of Appeal in June ruled in the government's favour.
- 'Losing faith' -
Saturday's London protesters held banners bearing slogans like "How is trying to stop a genocide a crime?" and "We are protesters, not terrorists".
Attendee Angie Zelter, 75, told AFP she had already been charged at least eight times at previous rallies but wanted to protest again ahead of the Supreme Court hearing.
"I am hoping they will come to their senses and agree PA (Palestine Action) should not have been proscribed," she said.
Marji Mansfield, 70, a retired financial adviser, said she had previously been arrested about 10 times.
"I am losing faith in judicial system," she told AFP.
"But if they lift the ban, it would be a way out for the government," Mansfield added, while noting there was currently "no sign" of the ban's reversal.
A bestselling Irish author, Sally Rooney, has become embroiled in the controversy, with her publisher Faber revealing this month it can no longer sell her books in the UK because of her support for the group.
Set up in 2020, Palestine Action's stated goal on its website -- blocked to UK internet users -- is to end "global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime".
It gained visibility after Israel began bombarding Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attack by fighters from Palestinian group Hamas in southern Israel.
The group has mainly targeted weapons factories in Britain, especially those belonging to the Israel-based defence group Elbit.
W.Richard--SMC
