Militant eco-activists have joined forces with supporters of the banned group Palestine Action, raising fears that Britain could face months of protest chaos.
Eco-warriors from Just Stop Oil (JSO), Extinction Rebellion (XR) and Insulate Britain plan to back Palestine Action supporters during a fraught weekend of demonstrations.
Police are gearing up to make mass arrests on Saturday when more than 500 people are expected to descend on London in solidarity with the outlawed pro-Gaza group.
And 3,000 riot officers will reportedly be deployed and placed on standby to keep the peace at a series of anti-asylum demonstrations and counter protests in locations including Islington and Canary Wharf in London.
JSO activists with a history of vandalising national treasures, blocking motorways and disrupting major sporting events are among those who have been held by police in recent weeks for supporting Palestine Action, which was proscribed as a terror group last month.
This newspaper has obtained a recording that indicates activists intend to chain themselves to each other in support of the terror group, mirroring tactics used by climate change protesters to thwart police.
It raises the spectre of Britain being brought to a standstill again, with protesters planning mass disruption until November, and a probable bill to taxpayers of millions of pounds.
Experts warned on Friday that the ‘coalescing’ of groups under the banner of Palestine Action could present a ‘very serious national security matter’.
On Friday night, Scotland Yard was preparing to make what could turn out to be hundreds of arrests after the group Defend Our Juries said it would intentionally break the law by holding up placards expressing support for Palestine Action.
At least 500 activists are expected to demonstrate in Parliament Square, holding identical signs saying, ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action’.
The group has instructed followers to write the same message to overwhelm police with the sheer number of people breaking terrorism laws.
It will coincide with a separate London demonstration by the Palestine Coalition, made up of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Stop The War and other groups, which will take place with a march from Russell Square to Whitehall.
Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who is leading the policing operation, warned that anyone expressing support for the Palestine Action will be arrested.
He added: ‘The Met is very experienced at dealing with large-scale protests, including where the protest activity crosses into criminality requiring arrests.
‘While we will not go into specific details of our plan, the public can be assured that we will have the resources and processes in place to respond to any eventuality.
‘Anyone showing support for Palestine Action can expect to be arrested.’
Admitting that the series of protests will put the force under strain, he said: ‘The scale of the public order policing operation will put pressure on our resources.’
Police expect custody cells to be at full capacity across the capital and officers may process some of those arrested in police vans.
Prison bosses have also initiated emergency measures for a possible influx of demonstrators this weekend.
Last week, Palestine Action received permission to challenge its banning after the High Court ruled it had an arguable case.
The ban came after two military aircraft were vandalised at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire in June, causing damage worth £7million.
A judicial review will take place in November, with protests set to continue on a rolling basis until then.
A recording from a meeting of Cage International, which supports people arrested under terror laws, last month indicates that some protesters are eager to ramp up their tactics.
At the Birmingham event on July 24, climate activists called on attendees to chain themselves to each other, in tactics reminiscent of Just Stop Oil’s protests, making it harder for police to make arrests.
One activist, who described herself as ‘formerly of Palestine Action’ and ‘just out of prison’, called for a return to ‘direct action’.
She said: ‘People are choosing to get arrested for holding up a placard. Palestine Action people were choosing to get arrested for doing a direct action.’
She is awaiting trial on an allegation of conspiracy to commit criminal damage against two banks that activists claim have financial ties to Israel.
At the same meeting, Angie Zelter, 74, encouraged elderly, white activists to chain themselves to younger, Muslim protesters at the demonstration.
She told attendees to ‘get arrested together’, but ‘rather than going in your nice comfort zone of old, middle-class women like me, or whatever, go and choose a young black Muslim guy, working class, as different as possible, basically’.
Ms Zelter was arrested twice in 2019 for actions during XR demonstrations.
It has long been feared that pro-Palestine protesters would seek to fill the void left by JSO after it disbanded in March, ending three years of mass protests.
Palestine Action co-founder Richard Barnard is said to have been in a faction of XR around founder Roger Hallam, who also established JSO.
Barnard was arrested in 2019 but acquitted for protesting on top of Tube trains in an XR stunt.
Defend Our Juries has also been involved in supporting JSO activists, highlighting what it claims is a ‘constitutional crisis’ over new restrictions that prevent them explaining their motivations to juries.
DOJ supporter Dr Alice Clack is facing a retrial next year after she was accused of causing criminal damage to the London premises of the US bank JP Morgan in July 2022 during a climate protest.
Earlier this month, 83-year-old Sue Parfitt, a retired Church of England vicar, was among 29 people arrested in London on suspicion of terrorism offences for holding a placard that read: ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’
Around 200 have been arrested at protests in support of Palestine Action since the ban came in, with three people charged so far with showing support for the group.
Professor Anthony Glees, a national security expert at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘If we are seeing the coalescing of groups under the standard of Palestine Action, who are committed to acts of sabotage, that becomes a very serious national security matter.
‘We are dealing with a united front of subversives who seek to undermine Government policy and, more seriously, perhaps undermine civil society and peacefulness in this country.’
Susan Hall, of the London Assembly police and crime committee, called for an end to ‘wretched constant demonstrations’, saying: ‘This Palestine Action support group is absolutely appalling. These protests are a drain on police.’
