About a hundred protesters gathered in Liverpool after Palestine Action was declared a terror organization
Sixty-six protesters have been arrested in the UK city of Liverpool on suspicion of supporting Palestine Action, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the British authorities, local police reported on Monday.
The group was outlawed under the Terrorism Act in June after its members broke into a military base and spray-painted two planes red in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza. Since then, its supporters have staged multiple demonstrations against the ban.
Around 100 people had gathered in the city center outside the Labour Party conference on Sunday, protest organizers Defend Our Juries said, as cited by Sky News. The protesters reportedly silently held signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Merseyside Police said individuals aged between 21 and 83 were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offenses for allegedly supporting the designated group. Two were later de-arrested, while the others were taken into custody and have since been released on bail.
Palestine Action’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, has had an attempt to suspend the ban rejected by the High Court – a decision which the activist’s lawyer described as “an ill-considered, discriminatory and authoritarian abuse of statutory power.”
The latest protest came amid a wave of anti‑Israel demonstrations in Europe and elsewhere. In September alone, around 50,000 people marched through Berlin in protest against the Israel‑Hamas war, tens of thousands of people demonstrated across Italy in solidarity with Gaza, while activists in Paris and other French cities took to the streets carrying Palestinian flags and calling for France to impose sanctions against Israel.
In recent months, several countries, including France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, have formally recognized the State of Palestine. The number of UN member states recognizing Palestine has climbed to about 159 of 193 as a result of the move.
More than 66,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military operation in response to the deadly Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
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