UK police arrest four over pro-Palestinian protest at military base
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An activist from Palestine Action approaching a military aircraft to spray it with paint in Carterton, Britain, on June 20.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - British counter-terrorism police have arrested four people in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest last week in which military planes were sprayed with paint at an air base in England, the authorities said on June 27.
A woman, 29, and two men aged 36 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, while another woman, 41, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, the police statement said.
Two activists from the Palestine Action group broke into the air base in central England on June 20, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport, an act that was condemned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as "disgraceful."
Within days the government set out plans to use anti-terrorism laws to ban Palestine Action, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper then said its actions had become more aggressive and caused millions of pounds of damage.
Palestine Action has regularly targeted British sites connected to Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
In response to the arrests, the campaign group accused the authorities of “cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine”.
The maximum sentence for preparation of terrorist acts, or to assist others in such preparation, in Britain is a life sentence. The government is also reviewing security across all defence sites.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed accusations that it is committing genocide in the war in Gaza which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel
Israel launched a military campaign that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians, according to the local health authorities in Gaza. REUTERS
