On Sunday, the police reported that 857 detainees faced charges of supporting a banned organization, while 33 others were detained for various offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers, according to British media. The police had announced on Saturday the arrest of over 425 protesters during the first day of demonstrations. The group was founded in 2020 and gained widespread notoriety after carrying out protest activities against companies dealing with, especially following the escalation of events in Gaza since October 7, 2023. One of the main activities of ‘Palestine Action’ is disrupting the production of drones at the Elbit Systems defense manufacturing plant in Bristol. Additionally, on June 20, supporters of the group stormed the Brize Norton airbase in Oxfordshire, spraying red paint on the engines of two military aircraft and raising Palestinian flags in protest against the use of these planes in Middle Eastern military operations. The High Court rejected the group’s request to halt the ban on July 4, leading to ‘Palestine Action’ being officially listed as a banned organization as of July 5. Under the law, supporting or joining the group is a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison, while wearing a shirt or carrying a badge with the group’s name can result in a prison sentence of up to 6 months. Since the ban, the police have arrested hundreds of the group’s supporters during similar protests, including the detention of over 500 demonstrators on August 9. Israel has continued its war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. Despite Arab and international mediation attempts and opposition voices within Israel, Netanyahu’s government insists on continuing the fight. Recently, it announced approval of a plan to take control of Gaza City, which international warnings suggest will lead to a humanitarian disaster, exacerbating the suffering of the residents of the strip, where the war has killed about 60,000 people and injured around 163,000 others.
