UK police charge over 800 people with "terrorism" for support of banned pro-Palestine group - National & International News -

London police charge over 800 people with “terrorism” for support of banned pro-Palestine group.

3 children recovered after father who kept them in the wilderness for 4 years dies in police shootout.

London police charge over 800 people with “terrorism” for protesting in support of banned pro-Palestine group

On Saturday, Metropolitan Police in London arrested over 850 people protesting the terror designation of the Palestine Action. These protesters were charged under the Terrorism Act, under which even expressing support for a proscribed group is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Among those arrested were many senior citizens as well as Church of England clerics, disabled people, and Jewish descendants of Holocaust Survivors. Their criminal offense consisted of sitting on the ground silently holding placards that read “I oppose genocide – I support Palestine Action”.

Palestine Action engages in non-violent direct activism, mostly targeting weapons manufacturers in the UK who export weapons to Israel. The unwanted attention brought by the group’s actions has forced the closure of two UK factories of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems. A third appears to have closed on Saturday, the day of the London protest.

The government designated Palestine Action a terror organization in July after members of the group spray painted a plane on a Royal Air Force base. Even before Saturday’s protest, over 700 people had been charged simply for expressing support for the group or protesting its proscription.

Defend Our Juries, one of the groups organizing protests, said in a statement, “If this unprecedented, authoritarian proscription is allowed to stand, there is a clear danger that it will be used against other groups the government of the day does not like – whether that be racial or climate justice groups, disability rights groups or trade unions”.

On Monday, a mural by famed graffiti artist Banksy appeared outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The mural depicts a judge in a traditional wig and robe beating a protester with his gavel. The protester holds up a blank placard smeared with red paint mimicking blood. The mural was quickly covered up a police guard was posted in front of it. Authorities announced this afternoon that the mural will be removed.

UK politician (and paid Israel lobbyist) behind Palestine Action ban struggles to defend criminalization of protests in CNN interview (9 mins)

3 children recovered after father who kept them in the wilderness for 4 years dies in police shootout

A nearly four-year long saga in New Zealand came to a dramatic end today. After responding to a break-in at a rural farm shop, police pursued two people riding a quad bike. Police spiked the road and as the bike as it came to a stop, one of the fugitives fired at a responding officer. The policeman was severely wounded but is expected to survive.

Police then killed the shooter. The assailant is believed to be Tom Phillips, who had been in hiding with his three young children for 4 years. The other person on the quad bike was one of his children. Soon thereafter, police found Phillips’ two other long missing children. The children, believed to be 9, 10, and 12, were all safe and uninjured.

In September 2021, Thomas Phillips disappeared with his three children into the rugged bush of New Zealand’s South Island. Police believe Philips took the children due to a then-ongoing custody dispute with their mother. When they disappeared, his daughters Jayda and Ember were 8 and 5 and his son Maverick was 7.

Since then, there have only been rare sightings of Phillips and the children. In the last few years, Phillips and at least one of his children have been captured on CCTV several times carrying out armed break-ins and robberies at local businesses, including a bank.

Despite the crime spree and worries for the children’s well-being, Phillips obtained a kind of folk-hero status among some of the locals. This both frustrated and saddened the children’s mother, known publicly as Cat. She spoke out in October 2024 to address years of online harassment and hurtful speculation. “I’m just dumbfounded. These people – they don’t know Thomas at all,” Cat said. “None of them have met the kids. They’re all just saying things”. She said she believed Phillips didn’t care about the children and that they were “pawns in his game”.