London police arrest 139 people outside US Embassy for supporting banned pro-Palestinian group

LONDON (AP) — London police said they arrested 139 people at a protest outside the U.S. Embassy on Saturday in support of the banned group Palestine Action.

The majority of those taken into custody had expressed support for a proscribed organization, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement. It said that more arrests are expected as officers remain at the scene.

Many of those protesting were retirees and had been holding signs reading: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” One protester climbed a tree outside the embassy and could be seen waving a placard reading “God help us. Teachers who support Palestine. Palestine Action.”

More than 4,000 people have been detained since July 2025 for defying the ban, said Defend Our Juries, an activist organization that planned the demonstration.

“It is truly dystopian that there have now been over 4,000 arrests under terror laws for peaceful vigils silently expressing opposition to genocide and support for the protest group Palestine Action,” the group said.

The U.K. government outlawed the direct-action protest group last year as a terrorist organization. The ban makes membership in or support for Palestine Action a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Demonstrators also held a vigil in support of Palestine Action outside the U.S. Consulate in Edinburgh, Scotland, holding placards akin to those in London. No arrests were reported there, but Police Scotland said that inquiries to identify people seen wearing T-shirts and holding banners showing support for a proscribed organization were ongoing.

“Evidence is being reviewed and further action will be taken as appropriate," it said.

The protests came before an appeal on Nov. 4 at the Supreme Court against Palestine Action’s designation as a terror group. Supporters say the ban is draconian and that it violates their freedom of speech.

In August, the U.S. government announced sanctions against Palestine Action, designating it as a terror group.

Palestine Action, founded in 2020, aims to stop U.K. military support for Israel, which it says is committing genocide against the Palestinians — an accusation that Israel strongly denies.

The group says it aims to stop genocide by disrupting “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex.”

In 2024, its activists broke into a factory owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK, smashing equipment with sledgehammers and crowbars. In June 2025, activists broke into a Royal Air Force base , sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes and caused further damage with crowbars.