More than 100 protesters were arrested during Gaza demonstrations alleged to support the proscribed terror group Palestine Action. It’s the third consecutive weekend of protests against the ban, which was instituted in late June.
The arrests, on Saturday, July 19th, stem from campaigning coordinated by ‘Defend Our Juries,’ which seeks to push back against the criminalisation of ‘direct action’ group Palestine Action. There were 65 arrests in London, 17 in Bristol, 16 in Manchester and six in Truro, Cornwall. Many of those arrested had displayed placards or T-shirts that were worded or typeset in ways that implied support for the illegal organisation and were designed to test the law.
Previously, local police have been criticised for their ‘two-tier policing’ of pro-Palestine marches. Now, one problem of using the serious vandalism committed by Palestine Action to group it with Hamas, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS in English law is becoming clear: its supporters can present themselves as ‘free speech martyrs’ when arrested (despite having zero commitment to free speech themselves, including for that of their ally Peter Tatchell). Meanwhile Iran’s murderous Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still remains legal in Britain.
Along the route of the London march, members of the counterdemonstrating Israel solidarity group Our Fight faced chants of “fascists” and “f–k your Jewish state.” In a statement shared on social media, the group said:
Not a single person arrested today in Parliament Square is concerned about ordinary Gazans. If they were, they would be talking about Hamas. We were there to puncture their bubble, and remind everyone that there is no genocide—but there is Islamist terror.
At previous demonstrations, representatives of Our Fight were arrested for displaying “Hamas is Terrorist” placards—a fact under British law.
