Nearly 500 people have been arrested in central London in the United Kingdom, during protests supporting the banned group Palestine Action, the Metropolitan Police said.
Organisers Defend Our Juries said about 1,000 people gathered around Trafalgar Square to back the group, which was proscribed by the government in July, making any show of support illegal.
According to police, 488 of the arrests were for supporting a proscribed organisation.
The youngest detainee was 18 and the oldest 89. Six others were arrested earlier for unfurling banners backing Palestine Action on Westminster Bridge.
The demonstrations went ahead despite government and police pleas to postpone them following Thursday’s deadly synagogue attack in Manchester.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had urged protesters to “respect the grief of British Jews.” Jewish figures also criticised the timing of the protest.
However, Defend Our Juries member Zoe Cohen said that as a Jewish person, she is “grieving after the appalling synagogue attack” but also “grieving for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered, displaced and starved in Gaza.”
She added, “I think it’s possible for us to be compassionate and open our hearts to victims of multiple atrocities at one time,” and said cancelling the vigil “would have been letting terror win.”
Police said many arrests took time as “many of those arrested won’t walk out of the square and need to be carried,” requiring at least five officers per person.
A vicar holding a sign reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” was among those arrested, according to PA Media. Some in the crowd called police “shameful,” while others thanked them.
Earlier, the Met had warned organisers the protest would divert resources from protecting communities after the Manchester synagogue attack. But Defend Our Juries defied the call, saying police should “prioritise protecting the public from real terrorism.”
Amnesty International UK criticised the arrests, saying detaining people for “peacefully sitting down and holding these signs” breaches international human rights obligations.
A smaller event also took place in Manchester, where around 100 pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Manchester Cathedral.
The protests came days after two Jewish men were killed outside a Manchester synagogue by Jihad Al-Shamie, who was later shot dead by police.
The government banned Palestine Action in July under anti-terrorism laws after activists broke into an RAF base and damaged aircraft. The group has since been granted permission to challenge the ban in court.
