Number of UK arrests over support for banned Palestine Action group grows to 365

By AP 9 August 2025, 8:55 pm

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A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest in support of Palestine Action, in Parliament Square, in London, August 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

British police now say they have arrested 365 people in central London as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flout the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to support the organization publicly. The decision came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest against Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the UK over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.