UK police arrest 139 at London protest supporting banned Palestine Action

British police arrested 139 people on Saturday at a demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in London in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist group banned under UK anti-terrorism laws.

The arrests highlight the ongoing dispute over the group’s proscription, which makes membership of or certain forms of support for Palestine Action a criminal offense.

The demonstration was organized by Defend Our Juries, a group campaigning against the ban, ahead of a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for Nov. 4-5.

The UK government banned Palestine Action in July 2025 after members broke into the Royal Air Force’s Brize Norton base and damaged two aircraft.

The group has also carried out vandalism attacks against British defense companies that do business with Israel. During one such attack, a police officer was seriously injured after being struck with a sledgehammer by a Palestine Action activist.

The group continues to attract support from protesters across Britain. According to campaigners, more than 4,000 people have been arrested for expressing support for Palestine Action since the ban took effect, including those detained on Saturday.

“The majority of arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organization,” the Police declared in a post on 𝕏.

“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,” added police Commander Adam Slonecki, who oversaw the police forces deployed around the U.S. Embassy on Saturday.

Many of those detained were retirees holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” Other signs asked, “How is trying to stop a genocide a crime?” and declared, “We are protesters, not terrorists.”

Defend Our Juries estimated that around 400 people attended the demonstration. The group accused 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.”

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 with the stated goal of ending UK military support for Israel and disrupting what it describes as “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex.”

The group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, is scheduled to challenge the ban before the UK Supreme Court on Nov. 4-5.

The demonstration comes amid wider tensions over anti-Israel activism in Britain. Recent controversies have included a Green Party of England and Wales resolution declaring Zionism a form of racism, as well as debate over pro-Palestinian symbols and antisemitism in British public life.

Despite the controversy surrounding the group and the legal risks associated with publicly supporting it, demonstrations backing Palestine Action continue to draw participants in London and other British cities.