Dozens arrested around the UK at protests to support proscribed group Palestine Action

LONDON (AP) — British police arrested dozens of people for supporting a banned Palestinian rights organization on Saturday as protests over the government’s decision to outlaw the group continued for a third weekend.

Waving placards reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” demonstrators gathered in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol, Londonderry and Truro.

The government moved to ban Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on June 20 to protest British military support for Israel’s war with Hamas. The activists sprayed red paint into the jet engines of two huge tanker planes and caused further damage with crowbars.

Parliament passed legislation earlier this month designating Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, meaning membership in the group or support for its actions are now punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Police announced an increased presence in central London ahead of the protests, saying they would protect the right to peaceful protest but would act swiftly if demonstrators violated the law.

“Those who see this as an opportunity to test the limits of the law by expressing support for Palestine Action, whether at a standalone protest or as part of the Palestine Coalition protest, will likely be committing an offense and will very likely be arrested,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a statement released Thursday.

Supporters of Palestine Action are challenging the ban, with the High Court in London scheduled to consider the case on Monday, according to the campaign group Defend Our Juries, which organized Saturday’s protests.

Almost 100 protesters were arrested around the country on Saturday, including 55 in London, Defend Our Juries said in a statement.

In London, police officers surrounded demonstrators who had gathered at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi that stands in a park across the street from the Houses of Parliament. Officers confiscated placards and searched the bags of those arrested.

Video posted online showed police carrying an elderly man away from the demonstration in the Cornish city of Truro as he shouted, “I oppose genocide.”