On Saturday, police in London arrested dozens of demonstrators supporting the now-banned pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action during a protest in Trafalgar Square, despite appeals to cancel the event following a deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester.
In the demonstration, organised by Defend Our Juries, protesters faced arrest while holding placards and writing slogans in support of Palion. At Westminster Bridge, six additional individuals were detained after unfurling a banner backing the banned group. The crowd, numbering in the hundreds, cheered and applauded those being carried away by officers, chanting “shame on you” toward police.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a message on X on Saturday morning urging protesters to “recognize and respect the grief of British Jews,” adding, “This is a moment of mourning. It is not a time to stoke tension and cause further pain. It is a time to stand together.”
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The call to cancel the protest came in the wake of Thursday’s attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, which left two people dead. The assailant—identified as a British citizen of Syrian descent—was shot dead by police and investigated by counterterrorism authorities, who suggested he may have been motivated by extremist Islamist ideology.
Authorities had asked organisers to call off the demonstration in light of heightened tensions and to allow the Jewish community time to grieve. Defend Our Juries, however, declined, stating that the protest was scheduled before the Manchester attack and condemning the violence while calling on police to focus resources on community protection rather than policing peaceful dissent.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July under anti-terrorism laws after members broke into a military airbase and damaged aircraft. Since then, protests organized in support of the group have repeatedly drawn police action: hundreds have been arrested over defiance of the ban.
Police expressed concern that the rally would divert limited resources from efforts to secure synagogues and mosques already under increased protection following the Manchester attack.
Thursday’s synagogue attack followed a summer marked by rising incidents of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate in Britain. Pro-Palestinian marchers have been mobilising in response to the Israel–Gaza conflict, stirring criticism from segments of the Jewish community and national leaders.