Over 400 arrested at London protest for Palestine Action, police say

Police in London now say that over 425 people have been arrested at a protest in support of the banned Palestine Action group, including at least 25 people held for assaulting officers.

“Throughout the demonstration, there was a coordinated effort to prevent officers from carrying out their duties, which escalated to violence where officers were punched, kicked, spat on and had objects thrown at them,” the Metropolitan Police says in a statement.

Defend Our Juries, which organized the protest, says aggression had come from police officers and dismisses claims that protesters had been violent as “frankly laughable.”

The group says 1,500 people took part in the London demonstration, sitting down and holding signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

The government recently proscribed Palestine Action as a terror group, making support of the organization a crime.