UK police arrest dozens at London protest in support of banned Palestine Action
Police detain demonstrators outside US Embassy ahead of Supreme Court hearing to lift ban on group; UK Greens reportedly lose nearly 20,000 members amid anti-Zionism row
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At least 48 people were arrested in London on Saturday as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in support of Palestine Action, openly displaying signs supporting the banned group despite a police warning that doing so could lead to arrest.
London’s Metropolitan Police began detaining people shortly after hundreds began a lunchtime “mass action” outside the US Embassy in the British capital.
The force said in a mid-afternoon update that 48 people had been arrested and that officers were “continuing to make arrests.”
“The majority of arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organisation,” it added on X.
Officers have arrested nearly 4,000 people for allegedly showing support for Palestine Action, according to police and campaigners, after the British government outlawed it under anti-terror laws in July 2025.
Many of those arrested have displayed signs at rallies reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
BREAKING: BLANKET ARRESTS BEGIN OUTSIDE US EMBASSY
The Met Police began making arrests before any signs were on display, arresting volunteers like this woman for supporting people holding signs, and arresting people for having blank placards. pic.twitter.com/t4mY2XvnOB
— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) October 31, 2026
Defend Our Juries, which organized the demonstration, estimated that around 400 people took part and accused the police of “making arrests before any signs were on display, arresting volunteers like this woman for supporting people holding signs, and arresting people for having blank placards,” the group wrote on X.
Palestine Action was outlawed under Britain’s terrorism legislation in 2025 after its activists broke into the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base and damaged two military planes. It also carried out a series of actions targeting Israel-linked defense companies in Britain, including one in which a police officer was seriously wounded after being hit in the back with a sledgehammer.
The ban has since been fought through Britain’s courts. The High Court ruled in February that the proscription was unlawful, but the Court of Appeal overturned that decision in June and upheld the ban. Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori was subsequently given permission to take the case to the Supreme Court, which was due to consider the challenge on November 4.
In August, the US government announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.
The ban puts the group on a blacklist that also includes Palestinian terror group Hamas and the Lebanese Iran-backed Hezbollah.
It made membership of, or support for, Palestine Action a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Palestine Action, founded in 2020, aims to stop UK military support for Israel, which it says is committing genocide against the Palestinians — an accusation that Israel strongly denies.
The group says it aims to stop genocide by disrupting “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex.”
Saturday’s London protesters held banners bearing slogans like “How is trying to stop a genocide a crime?” and “We are protesters, not terrorists.”
Attendee Angie Zelter, 75, told AFP she had already been charged at least eight times at previous rallies but wanted to protest again ahead of the Supreme Court hearing.
“I am hoping they will come to their senses and agree PA (Palestine Action) should not have been proscribed,” she said.
Marji Mansfield, 70, a retired financial adviser, said she had previously been arrested about 10 times.
“I am losing faith in judicial system,” she told AFP.
“But if they lift the ban, it would be a way out for the government,” Mansfield added, while noting there was currently “no sign” of the ban’s reversal.
Police warn support could lead to arrest
Ahead of Saturday’s demonstration, the Metropolitan Police stated officers would be deployed around the embassy and warned that enforcement would extend beyond protesters personally carrying Palestine Action placards.
People judged to be organizing the event, directing others or providing logistical assistance could also face arrest, police said.
“All those intending on coming to this event know that supporting a proscribed organization is unlawful — they are essentially meeting to purposefully commit a crime,” said Commander Adam Slonecki, who was leading the operation.
Slonecki said police were not seeking to prevent people from expressing political views, but would act where such expression crossed into criminal support for a banned organization. He also urged potential participants not to attend, saying such demonstrations diverted substantial police resources from local communities.
Police also imposed a Section 35 dispersal order covering parts of central London between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.
A Section 35 dispersal order will be in place in parts of central London from 8am to 11pm today.
This is following information that a group are planning to attend an event and express support for a proscribed organisation, which is an offence under the Terrorism Act.
The order… pic.twitter.com/KEtI1joelL
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) October 31, 2026
Green party looses members amid Zionism dispute
Amid the dispute, opposition to Israel continued to roil UK politics.
The Green Party of England and Wales reportedly lost nearly 20,000 members in less than six months, amid internal divisions over its decision to adopt a resolution declaring Zionism a form of racism and support for a Palestinian state in all of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
The party has also seen its support decline in opinion polls, while several local councilors defected in protest over the resolution, according to the Daily Mail.
The latest departure was the leader of the Greens in Cornwall, Drew Creek, who said Friday that the motion “crossed a line” and accused party leader Zack Polanski of having “doubled down” on his support for it.
At its annual convention on October 4, the Green Party voted 1,022 to 813 to adopt a motion calling for Zionism to be treated like other forms of racism and advocating a Palestinian state in place of Israel, “with equal rights for all.”
Polanski, who is Jewish, did not take part in the vote.
Israel strongly condemned the resolution at the time, accusing the Greens of endorsing the elimination of the Jewish state and legitimizing terrorism.
The Times of Israel Community.