Several people were detained outside the High Court in London as demonstrators gathered to oppose the government’s ban on a pro-Palestinian activist network currently fighting its designation in court. The demonstration coincided with the opening days of a judicial review examining whether the organisation’s prohibition, imposed under counter-terrorism legislation earlier this year, should be overturned. The proceedings have drawn renewed attention to the use of sweeping powers that criminalise public expressions of solidarity, with supporters facing penalties of up to 14 years in prison simply for displaying allegiance.

The protest formed part of a wider wave of public mobilisation that has intensified throughout the year. Thousands of people, legal specialists and human-rights groups continue to call on the government to halt all forms of complicity with Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza. In recent months, gatherings in streets and public squares across Europe and the UK have echoed the same message: that accountability cannot be achieved while political activism is met with criminal sanctions rather than democratic engagement.

Images from outside the Royal Courts of Justice showed protesters seated with placards reading, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” a statement reflecting broader anger at Britain’s military partnerships with Israel. The demonstrations come as the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsens dramatically, with tens of thousands of civilians, largely women and children, killed since late 2023, hundreds of thousands wounded, and entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. The international push for justice escalated further this month after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the ongoing war.