London
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Police on Sunday marked the largest mass arrest in the UK capital, and police said more than 890 people have been arrested in London, protesting the UK government’s decision to ban activist groups from Palestinian conduct.
London metropolitan police estimated that up to 1,400 people gathered on the Parliament Square on Saturday on Saturday, and read, “I am against genocide and support Palestinian actions.”
Police said 857 people on Sunday were arrested in protests under the Terrorism Act to demonstrate support for the group, and 33 were arrested for other crimes, including assaulting police officers.
Police chanted the protesters “shame of your shame” from other protesters, and officers forced the crowd to arrest them. Video footage verified by CNN shows the moment when a police officer draws his baton in a fight with one demonstrator, as other officers contest the protesters on the ground.
As public support to overturn the ban increases and promotes broader debate on civil liberties and government overreach, here’s what you need to know about the group:
Palestine Action is a UK-based organization aimed at disrupting the operations of arms manufacturers associated with the Israeli government.
Founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori and climate activist Richard Barnard. The group took the first steps to shut down operations in Britain, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, and stated its commitment to end Israeli genocide and global participation in the apartheid system.
Elbit Systems UK, which currently bids for a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) UK Ministry of Defence contract, did not answer CNN’s questions about Palestinian actions, but said, “National security is our priority and we are proud to partner with the British military.”
Since its establishment, Palestinian action has occupied, blocked, spray painted and confused Israeli-French drone company UAV Tactical Systems and Global Arms Giant Leonardo, among other actions. I reduced and sprayed the portrait of former British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour. The 1917 declaration expressed support for London to establish a “National House for the Jews” at Trinity College in Cambridge, and stated that the two “adjusted” busts of Israel’s first president, Israel’s president, were “adjusted.”
However, that was the group’s actions in late June 2025. Activists invaded the UK’s largest air force base, invaded Raf Brize Norton, destroying two Airbus Voyagers with paint and clover.
A few days later, then Secretary of State Yvette Cooper, who became Foreign Secretary in a Cabinet reshuffle on Friday, designated Palestinian actions as a terrorist group, putting them on par with organizations such as Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The UK government said Palestinian actions have crossed the line from protest to obstruction, citing assessments from the country’s Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre. Cooper said Palestinian actions have a history of “not a non-violent organization” and “unacceptable criminal damage,” and framed movements as needed to protect national security.
However, British authorities have been turning their eyes to the group for a while.
In May 2024, an independent government review of political violence and chaos encouraged Palestinian action and climate activists to stop oiling “terrorist groups” and ban their actions.
“The ban on terrorist groups has made it difficult for activists to plan crimes — that approach should be extended to extreme protest groups,” says review author John Woodcock, sitting in the upper legislative room as Lord Walney in the UK.
In an interview with CNN, Woodcock said the designation was “justified and proportionate.”
“I have a real exception to the idea that this is a peaceful protest,” he said. “The definition of terrorism absolutely covers the types of economic damage to political causes systematically implemented by Palestinian actions.”
Woodcock was a paid advisor to a lobbying group representing arms makers and fossil fuel companies. The former chairman of Israeli Labour Friends shrugs over the perceived conflict of interest and tells CNN “we should tell CNN it’s not okay to break the law and terrorize workers.”
The Palestine action is considered to be the first direct action group designated as a terrorist organization in the UK. A ban means that you are sentenced to the maximum sentence in a prison for up to 14 years by showing support for the organization.
The group is promoting “destructive tactics,” but says their actions target properties, not people. The UK’s Home Office has not provided evidence of claims that Palestinian actions used weapons and caused serious injuries.
Civil liberties quickly condemned designations across the UK and beyond, warning that by applying terrorist laws to such groups, they set a dangerous precedent for the right to protest, while at the same time putting calm freedom of speech and assembly at risk.
Amnesty UK has condemned the move as a “disquiet legal oversight” and argues that existing criminal law can deal with property damage without invoking terrorism.
Amnesty International also argues that the ban suppresses the wider pro-Palestinian movement’s entire expression, arguing that the government rebels.
In July, UN Human Rights Chief Volcartark called to lift the ban, saying it raised concerns that the UK’s terrorism law “applies to acts that are not essentially terrorist and there is a risk of preventing the legitimate exercise of basic freedoms.”
How have protests and arrests been unfolded since the ban?
Since its designation, more than 1,500 individuals have been arrested in solidarity protests across the UK.
On August 9th, more than 500 people were arrested in London.
Nearly half of the 532 people arrested that day were over 60 years old, police said. Almost 100 people arrested were in their 70s and another 15 in their 80s.
While most of the arrested protesters are unlikely to carry out prison time, Justice Minister Alex Davis Jones told the BBC last month that “anyone who shows support for the terrorist organization will feel the full power of the law.”
Advances in the UK and Scotland counterterrorism officials stormed the homes of seven spokesmen from an activist group. This defended the ju apprentices who have worked hard to organize the protests, arresting and claiming them all for terrorist crimes. The move came before a scheduled press conference on the protest.
Future judicial reviews scheduled for November can answer that question.
When allowing legal review, London High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain said in July it was “reasonably controversial.” He said the ban disproportionately hindered the right to Palestinian action against freedom of expression, assembly and associations under the European Treaty on Human Rights (ECHR).
Chamberlain added that Cooper, who filed the ban, may have consulted the group before moving.
Meanwhile, many rights groups have warned that the decision will mark a pivotal moment for the future of UK rights of protest.
“If this unprecedented authoritarian ban is permitted to withstand, there is a clear risk that it will be used against other groups that the government at the time did not like.
CNN’s Mick Krever, Isobel Yeung, Billy Stockwell and Jasmin Sykes contributed the report.
