British police said Sunday they arrested nearly 900 people in London during protests against a government ban that designated the activist group Palestine Action a terrorist organization.
Almost 1,600 people have now been detained, many for silently holding signs supporting the group, since it was outlawed two months ago. Protesters say the ban on Palestine Action is an unwarranted curb on free speech and the right to protest.
The Metropolitan Police force said 890 people were arrested at Saturday's demonstration, the vast majority, 857, under the Terrorism Act for supporting a proscribed organization. Some 33 were detained for other offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers.
Defend Our Juries, the campaign group organizing the protest, said 1,500 people took part in the demonstration outside Parliament, sitting down and holding signs reading "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action."
Within minutes, police began arresting the demonstrators, as bystanders chanted "Shame on you," and "Met Police, pick a side, justice or genocide." There were some scuffles and angry exchanges as officers dragged away demonstrators who went limp as they were removed from the crowd.
"In carrying out their duties today, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on and had objects thrown at them by protesters," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who called the abuse directed at police "intolerable."
Defend Our Juries said aggression had come from police officers and dismissed claims that protesters had been violent as "frankly laughable."
More than 700 people were arrested at earlier protests, and 138 have been charged under the Terrorism Act.
Mike Higgins, 62, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, was arrested last month but returned to demonstrate Saturday.
"And I'm a terrorist? That's the joke of it," he said. "I've already been arrested under the Terrorism Act and I suspect I will be today.
"Of course I'll keep coming back. What choice do I have?"
The government proscribed Palestine Action in July, after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized planes to protest against what they called Britain's support for Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes and caused further damage with crowbars.
Proscription made it a crime to publicly support the organization. Membership of, or support for, the group is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Palestine Action has carried out direct action protests in the U.K. since it formed in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems U.K., and has targeted other sites in Britain that participants believe have links with the Israeli military.
