The British government doesn't want anyone to talk about Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist group that was designated a terrorist organization after spray-painting graffiti on RAF jets. Since then, more than 2,000 Britons have been arrested on terror charges for supporting the group while protesting the war in Gaza: typically, for carrying signs at protests that plainly expressed that support.
In London, a protestor now claims she was arrested for a sign criticizing the group's proscription: literally, "I oppose proscription of Palestine Action."
A video of the woman shows her being led through Trafalgar Square, London by four police officers. She said: "I've been holding a sign saying that I do not support the proscription of Palestine Action. I've been arrested for having the words 'Palestine Action' written on a sign. This is a police state."
Here's the video. The sign isn't visible, having been confiscated.
The video was posted by Defend Our Juries, which describes it as "a totally lawful statement to make, even under the Labour government's absurd new laws proscribing the direct action group. … It is not unlawful to oppose the proscription of Palestine Action."
Right-wing responses on social media amount to "you knew what you were doing," which is to say they agree with the implied authoritarian position that to mention the group supports it. You cannot say you support it. You cannot say down with it, either. If you say it at all, you know what you're doing. Getty Images, welcome to the Intifada!
The U.K. and other Western nations nonetheless recognized Palestinian statehood last month after a United Nations commission found that Israel's war in Gaza amounted to genocide. The invasion followed a Hamas raid on October 7, 2023 which killed 1,195 people in Israel; Hamas took more than 200 hostages and still holds dozens. More than 65,000 people in Gaza have been killed since.
