<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/uk" rel="" target="" title="British"><span>British</span></a><span> police said they arrested 365 people in central London yesterday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organisation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalised two tanker planes to protest against Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/gaza" rel="" target="" title="Gaza Strip"><span>Gaza Strip</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/police-hunt-duo-over-alleged-home-invasion-targeting-elderly-man/cme41ew30000m0hq01hrorqzt"><strong><span>Police hunt duo over alleged home invasion targeting elderly man</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the UK over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Daring police to arrest them</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/london-police-arrest-365-people-as-propalestinian-protesters-defy-new-law/32920508-254b-43f4-9ea8-dd6b1e0e51bf" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That was enough for police to step in.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But as the demonstration began to wind down, police and protest organisers sparred over the number of arrests as the organisers sought to show that the law was unworkable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/cockburn-pub-death-homicide-detectives-investigate-mystery-death-in-perth-carpark/562f5185-3437-4b59-b208-31cfdf1937c4"><strong><span>Homicide detectives investigate mystery death in Perth carpark</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“The police have only been able to arrest a fraction of those supposedly committing ‘terrorism’ offences, and most of those have been given street bail and allowed to go home,” Defend Our Juries, which organised the protest, said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This is a major embarrassment to (the government), further undermining the credibility of this widely ridiculed law, brought in to punish those exposing the government’s own crimes.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>London’s Metropolitan Police Service quickly hit back, saying this wasn’t true and that many of those who gathered in the square were onlookers, media or people who didn’t hold placards supporting the group.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/shots-fired-into-cannington-perth-business/cme45z6vb000g0gl9x8ecmy4q"><strong><span>Shots fired into Perth business</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We are confident that anyone who came to Parliament Square today to hold a placard expressing support for Palestine Action was either arrested or is in the process of being arrested,” the police force said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Friday, police said the demonstration was unusual in that the protesters wanted to be arrested in large numbers so as to place a strain on police and the broader criminal justice system.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Why the group is being banned</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government moved to ban Palestine Action after the activists broke into a British air force base in southern England on June 20 to protest British military support for the Israel-Hamas war. T</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>he activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire and caused further damage with crowbars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Palestine Action had previously targeted Israeli defence contractors and other sites in the United Kingdom that they believe have links with the Israeli military.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Supporters of the group are challenging the ban in court, saying the government has gone too far in declaring Palestine Action a terrorist organisation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“Once the meaning of ‘terrorism’ is separated from campaigns of violence against a civilian population, and extended to include those causing economic damage or embarrassment to the rich, the powerful and the criminal, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning and democracy is dead,” Defend Our Juries said on its website.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Busy weekend of protests</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The arrests outside Parliament came amid what is expected to be a busy weekend of demonstrations in London as the war in Gaza and concerns about immigration spur protests and counterprotests across the United Kingdom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While Prime Minister Keir Starmer has angered Israel with plans to recognise a Palestinian state later this year, many Palestinian supporters in Britain criticise the government for not doing enough to end the war in Gaza.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Saturday afternoon in central London for a march that ended outside the gates of No. 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence and offices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Sunday, a number of groups are scheduled to march through central London to demand the safe release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. Palestinian militants have held the captives since Hamas-led attackers surged into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostage. There are 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police are also preparing for protests outside hotels across the country that are being used to house asylum-seekers. Protesters and counter-protesters have squared off outside the hotels in recent weeks, with some saying the migrants pose a risk to their communities and others decrying anti-immigrant racism.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said the scale of the events would “put pressure” on the police department.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This is going to be a particularly busy few days in London with many simultaneous protests and events that will require a significant policing presence,” Adelekan said before the protests began.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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