London police have arrested 522 people in what is believed to be the largest number ever detained at a single protest in the British capital, following demonstrations against the UK government’s recent decision to ban the activist group Palestine Action.
The Metropolitan Police said on Sunday that all but one of the arrests took place on Saturday in Parliament Square, where thousands gathered for a Palestine Coalition march.
Protesters carried placards supporting Palestine Action, an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000 following the group’s proscription on 5 July. One additional arrest for the same offence was made at Russell Square.
The ban was announced days after the group claimed responsibility for a break-in at an air force base in southern England, an action that caused an estimated £7 million in damage to two aircraft. The activists said their actions were aimed at halting Britain’s indirect military support for Israel during its war in Gaza.
Saturday’s rally came as Gaza’s health ministry reported at least 61,430 deaths and more than 153,000 injuries since the conflict began.
Police confirmed 10 further arrests during the protest, including six for assaulting officers, though none of the injuries were serious.
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, said ahead of the demonstrations that the events would “go down in our country’s history as a momentous act of collective defiance of an unprecedented attack on our fundamental freedoms.”
The force revealed that the average age of those arrested was 54, with six teenagers, 97 people in their seventies, and 15 in their eighties among those detained.
The arrests highlight the growing tension between the British government and pro-Palestinian activists, as campaigners accuse ministers of using anti-terror laws to suppress political dissent.
