Peaceful Pro-Palestine Protestors Mass Arrested By The U.K.'s Zionist Regime Again.

The UK Arrested Another 30 Peaceful Protestors For Supporting Palestine Action.

UK police have yet again mass-arrested activists with Defend Our Juries after the group organised protests across the country in support of the direct action group, Palestine Action.

Bristol Live, a local news outlet from the UK town of Bristol reports that, “More than 30 people were arrested by police in Bristol … as part of a co-ordinated nationwide campaign calling for the ban on protest group Palestine Action to be dropped by the Government. A total of 29 people were arrested for holding up signs expressing support for the proscribed group”.

The outlet noted, “The protest, organised by Defend Our Juries, began at 1pm. Protesters, most of whom were in their 60s and 70s, lined up along the ornamental water feature in front of City Hall on College Green, sat down and wrote on placards the words: ‘I oppose genocide I support Palestine Action’” and for this were arrested under “terrorism charges”.

One the same day, the BBC reported that, “In Birmingham, 25 protesters carrying placards expressing support for Palestine Action were arrested at a rally in Chamberlain Square in the city centre, West Midlands Police said” and “Officers also arrested 10 protesters in Norwich. Norfolk Police said a group of people were being held under the Terrorism Act on suspicion of holding placards that showed support for Palestine Action.”

Similarly, a local magazine called “now then” from Sheffield reported:

South Yorkshire Police have joined police forces across the UK in launching a crackdown on the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression in Sheffield, with several activists arrested today simply for holding up a placard.

At 1pm, 17 activists with the Defend Our Juries campaign, which opposes the designation of campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, sat on the steps outside Sheffield Cathedral holding signs that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Officers with South Yorkshire Police then arrested each of the activists in turn, carrying them by their hands and feet into waiting police vans.

Despite it being clear that the activists intended to be entirely peaceful, and even though the vast majority of them were older people, South Yorkshire Police responded to the action with a heavy-handed show of force, with no less than 36 police officers involved overall.

Defend Our Juries documented that overall 164 arrests were made across the country for protestors supporting Palestine Action.

This is because the UK officially designated the non-violent direct action group Palestine Action as a “terrorist organization”, making it a criminal offence to say anything supportive of the group.

Since the ban went into effect, hundreds of peaceful protestors have been arrested for holding signs saying, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”.

At a previous protest, the UK Metropolitan Police boasted that “466 people had been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action”.

For context, Palestine Action was best known for disrupting the UK-based facilities of Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer which has profited off the genocide and slaughter of civilians in Gaza.

As the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese has documented, “Elbit Systems has cooperated closely on Israeli military operations, embedding key staff in the Ministry of Defense, and was awarded the 2024 Israeli Defense Prize. Elbit Systems provides a critical domestic supply of weaponry, and reinforce Israeli military alliances through arms exports and joint development of military technology” adding, “For Israeli companies such as Elbit Systems , the ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture.”

Yvette Cooper, the UK Home Secretary, eventually put forward legislation to ban Palestine Action as a “terrorist organization”, which was passed, making it a criminal offence to say anything supportive of the group.

Yvette Cooper spread a long series of lies to justify the ban, claiming that, Palestine Action, “attacks people, not just weapons-making equipment, is funded by Iran, attacks Jewish-owned businesses and has plans for future unspecified appalling terrorist acts”, but leaked documents published by former UK diplomat Craig Murray from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre found no evidence to back up these claims, and admits that the group has only caused, “property damage” to Elbit Systems adding that the group “focuses primarily on disrupting Israeli defense company Elbit Systems” and that its “primary targets for direct action in the UK are those with perceived links to the Israeli defense trade, most notably Elbit Systems”.

The report admitted that, “a ‘majority of the group’s activity would not be classified as terrorism’ under Britain’s legal definition”, “expressed doubt that the group would explicitly encourage attacks on people, a signature of other groups designated as terrorist organizations” and “said that most of the property damage linked to the group ‘is typically more minor’ and that common tactics included graffiti, petty vandalism and sit-ins.”

While Yvette Cooper’s own Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre found no evidence that Palestine Action engages in terrorism, the ban and the lies about Palestine Action actually came from pressure by the UK’s powerful Israel lobby.

“We Believe in Israel”, a Zionist lobby group in the UK boasted that the ban on Palestine Action is “the direct result of months of sustained research, strategic advocacy, and evidence-based reporting led by WBII (We Believe in Israel) and our partners.”

Similarly, the “Campaign Against Antisemitism” (CAA) a Zionist Lobby group- which journalist Asa Winstanley and Rebecca Gordon-Nesbitt note “has been given almost half a million dollars by the UK partner of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), Israel’s quasi-governmental settler-colonial agency” and “has also taken part in the main conferences at which the Israeli government draws up strategy to combat ‘delegitimization’”- said, “We are pleased that the Home Secretary has listened to our representatives over the last week” after Yvette Cooper announced the Palestine Action ban.

Yet again, the UK’s Israel lobby has struck a blow to free speech in order to silence criticism of Israel.

---

Note to readers: The Dissident is a reader-supported outlet. If you liked this article, consider becoming a paid subscriber.