ARRESTS were made as over 100 people protested outside the Home Office in Marsham Street, Westminster in central London yesterday in support of the Filton 24, and against the designation of Palestine Action as ‘terrorists’ by the British government.
Police arrested protesters one by one, hauling them off to their vans and driving them away, with the crowd applauding them, thanking them and shouting ‘Free Palestine!’
John Cox told News Line: ‘I am 62 years old and when I see newborn babies being bombed I’m absolutely disgusted. And these laws make it illegal to protest about that.
‘There’s an analogy between what the Nazis did in Germany and what is being done to the Palestinian people now. It takes a certain kind of mentality to carry out this kind of horrific crime.’
Leigh Evans said: ‘I’m sitting for the Filton 24. In my opinion if people commit a minor act to prevent a major act, in this case genocide, then that is allowed in law.
‘There are huge numbers of people opposing this genocide, but the government doesn’t want any of this to hit the media’s notice.’
Mark Etkind, the son of a Holocaust survivor, told News Line: ‘During the Holocaust there weren’t huge protests, but today lots of people are taking action.
‘I can remember when Britain was looked to as a place where people have rights.
‘Today these “Western democracies” are on the slippery slope moving towards dictatorship.’
On being arrested, one of the protesters shouted: ‘Free Palestine! We are not terrorists, we are peaceful people!’
The remaining crowd chanted: ‘Free, free Palestine!’ and ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’
- The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) stance in Belfast and Derry in the north of Ireland on Saturday contrasted with the Met Police in London where arrests were made at a similar protest.
Defend Our Juries said no one was arrested at the events it organised in Belfast and Derry on Saturday afternoon which saw activists display placards stating support for Palestine Action.
However, dozens of activists displaying the same phrase – ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action’ – were arrested at another Defend Our Juries demonstration in Tavistock Square Gardens in central London on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police said at least 90 people had been detained.
The protests came ahead of next week’s legal challenge against the government’s move to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
- This morning there is a Judicial Review of the proscription of Palestine Action at 10am outside the Royal Courts of Justice and on Wednesday at 1pm.
The rally for the Filton 24 is at Woolwich Crown Court, from 9.30am at Belmarsh Way, SE28 0EY.
