SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A specialist police officer surveys a huge banner in support of Palestine Action before taking it down in London on July 22, 2025.
(Photo: Lab Mo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
After Initial Arrests, As Many As 1,000 Ready to Defend Palestine Action in London Saturday
"There's now a risk of unprecedented mass arrest of protesters shredding this country's reputation for tolerance and civil liberties," said one member of Parliament.
Aug 08, 2025
After police in London arrested more than two dozen people last month for publicly expressing support for the nonviolent direct action group Palestine Action, hundreds more have signaled they won't be intimidated by the U.K. ban on protesting on behalf of the organization—committing to risk arrest at another demonstration scheduled for Saturday.
The group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) said this week that as many as 1,000 people have signed up to participate in a rally in Parliament Square to demand the government reverse its decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group, which it announced in June.
DOJ said it would move forward with the event if at least 500 people committed to showing up.
Under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act of 2000, the House of Commons voted 385-26 last month in favor of banning Palestine Action, and the House of Lords approved the move without a vote.
The law dictates that joining or supporting the group, which is nonviolent and has been accused of vandalizing planes at a military base, is akin to supporting violent armed groups including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Those who support Palestine Action can face up to 14 years in prison.
On Thursday, three people were formally charged for allegedly showing support for a terrorist group, following their attendance at last month's protest where they demanded the terrorist designation be rescinded.
The Metropolitan Police said Friday that it plans to make mass arrests at the Parliament Square protest planned for Saturday.
As they did in July, supporters plan to display signs reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
John McDonnell, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, said he had asked Home Secretary Yvette Cooper "what guidance had been given" to police by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, and had not received an answer.
Ahead of the planned protest, said McDonnell, "there's now a risk of unprecedented mass arrest of protesters shredding this country's reputation for tolerance and civil liberties."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
After police in London arrested more than two dozen people last month for publicly expressing support for the nonviolent direct action group Palestine Action, hundreds more have signaled they won't be intimidated by the U.K. ban on protesting on behalf of the organization—committing to risk arrest at another demonstration scheduled for Saturday.
The group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) said this week that as many as 1,000 people have signed up to participate in a rally in Parliament Square to demand the government reverse its decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group, which it announced in June.
DOJ said it would move forward with the event if at least 500 people committed to showing up.
Under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act of 2000, the House of Commons voted 385-26 last month in favor of banning Palestine Action, and the House of Lords approved the move without a vote.
The law dictates that joining or supporting the group, which is nonviolent and has been accused of vandalizing planes at a military base, is akin to supporting violent armed groups including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Those who support Palestine Action can face up to 14 years in prison.
On Thursday, three people were formally charged for allegedly showing support for a terrorist group, following their attendance at last month's protest where they demanded the terrorist designation be rescinded.
The Metropolitan Police said Friday that it plans to make mass arrests at the Parliament Square protest planned for Saturday.
As they did in July, supporters plan to display signs reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
John McDonnell, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, said he had asked Home Secretary Yvette Cooper "what guidance had been given" to police by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, and had not received an answer.
Ahead of the planned protest, said McDonnell, "there's now a risk of unprecedented mass arrest of protesters shredding this country's reputation for tolerance and civil liberties."
From Your Site Articles
- 27 Arrested for Defying UK Ban on Nonviolent Pro-Palestine Group ›
- 'Stop Arming Israel': Protesters Target Weapons Makers Supplying the Gaza Bombardment ›
- Hundreds Arrested In London for Opposing Ban on Nonviolent Group Palestine Action | Common Dreams ›
- UK Cops 'Ashamed and Sick' of Enforcing Ban on Anti-Genocide Group Palestine Action | Common Dreams ›
After police in London arrested more than two dozen people last month for publicly expressing support for the nonviolent direct action group Palestine Action, hundreds more have signaled they won't be intimidated by the U.K. ban on protesting on behalf of the organization—committing to risk arrest at another demonstration scheduled for Saturday.
The group Defend Our Juries (DOJ) said this week that as many as 1,000 people have signed up to participate in a rally in Parliament Square to demand the government reverse its decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group, which it announced in June.
DOJ said it would move forward with the event if at least 500 people committed to showing up.
Under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act of 2000, the House of Commons voted 385-26 last month in favor of banning Palestine Action, and the House of Lords approved the move without a vote.
The law dictates that joining or supporting the group, which is nonviolent and has been accused of vandalizing planes at a military base, is akin to supporting violent armed groups including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Those who support Palestine Action can face up to 14 years in prison.
On Thursday, three people were formally charged for allegedly showing support for a terrorist group, following their attendance at last month's protest where they demanded the terrorist designation be rescinded.
The Metropolitan Police said Friday that it plans to make mass arrests at the Parliament Square protest planned for Saturday.
As they did in July, supporters plan to display signs reading: "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
John McDonnell, a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, said he had asked Home Secretary Yvette Cooper "what guidance had been given" to police by Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government, and had not received an answer.
Ahead of the planned protest, said McDonnell, "there's now a risk of unprecedented mass arrest of protesters shredding this country's reputation for tolerance and civil liberties."
From Your Site Articles
- 27 Arrested for Defying UK Ban on Nonviolent Pro-Palestine Group ›
- 'Stop Arming Israel': Protesters Target Weapons Makers Supplying the Gaza Bombardment ›
- Hundreds Arrested In London for Opposing Ban on Nonviolent Group Palestine Action | Common Dreams ›
- UK Cops 'Ashamed and Sick' of Enforcing Ban on Anti-Genocide Group Palestine Action | Common Dreams ›
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.