British police said Sunday that they arrested almost 900 people demonstrating in London against a ban on the group Palestine Action, which has been deemed a terrorist organization by the government.

Almost 1,600 people have now been detained, many for silently holding signs supporting the group, since it was outlawed two months ago. Protesters say the ban on Palestine Action is an unwarranted curb on free speech and the right to protest.

The Metropolitan Police force said 890 people were arrested at Saturday’s demonstration, the vast majority, 857, under the Terrorism Act for supporting a proscribed organization. Some 33 were detained for other offenses, including 17 for assaulting police officers.

Defend Our Juries, the campaign group organizing the protest, said 1,500 people took part in the demonstration outside Parliament, sitting down and holding signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Within minutes, police began arresting the demonstrators, as bystanders chanted “Shame on you,” and “Met Police, pick a side, justice or genocide.” There were some scuffles and angry exchanges as officers dragged away demonstrators who went limp as they were removed from the crowd.

“In carrying out their duties today, our officers have been punched, kicked, spat on and had objects thrown at them by protesters,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart, who called the abuse directed at police “intolerable.”

Defend Our Juries said aggression had come from police officers and dismissed claims that protesters had been violent as “frankly laughable.”

More than 700 people were arrested at earlier protests, and 138 have been charged under the Terrorism Act.

Direct action protests

The government proscribed Palestine Action in July, after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized planes to protest against what they called Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The activists sprayed red paint into the engines of two tanker planes and caused further damage with crowbars.

Proscription made it a crime to publicly support the organization. Membership of, or support for, the group is punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action has carried out direct action protests in the U.K. since it formed in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK, and has targeted other sites in Britain that participants believe have links with the Israeli military.

The group has targeted defense companies and national infrastructure, and officials say their actions have caused millions of pounds in damage that affect national security.

Banning the group, then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “The assessments are very clear, this is not a nonviolent organization.”

Palestine Action has won approval from the High Court to challenge the ban, a ruling the government is seeking to overturn. The case is ongoing, with a hearing scheduled for Sept. 25.

(AP)