Met Police arrest 139 outside US Embassy over support for banned Palestine Action

1st November 2026

Updated 2 Nov 2026, 08:35 · First published 1 Nov 2026

The Metropolitan Police arrested 139 people outside the US Embassy in Nine Elms, south-west London, on Saturday, most of them for showing support for Palestine Action, which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

What happened

Officers began making arrests shortly after 12:30pm. Many demonstrators held signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”, and some waved Palestinian flags. One person climbed a tree outside the embassy with a placard. By about 6:15pm the Met said 139 people had been arrested, mostly for expressing support for a proscribed organisation, and it expected further arrests.

A dispersal order covering parts of London, including the embassy grounds, was in place from 8am to 11pm. The Met said it acted on information that a group planned to show support for a banned organisation.

“These protests take significant police resources away from the neighbourhoods and communities where they are most needed.”Metropolitan Police

What the organisers say

Defend Our Juries, which organises the protests, said more than 4,000 people have now been arrested for defying the ban since it came into force in 2025. It called the arrests “truly dystopian” and described the gatherings as peaceful vigils.

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The legal battle over the ban

The government proscribed Palestine Action in 2025, making membership of or support for the group a criminal offence carrying up to 14 years in prison. The High Court ruled in February that the ban was unlawful, but in June the Court of Appeal found it “justified and proportionate”. The Supreme Court is due to hear an appeal against the ban on Wednesday 4 November.

The group, founded in 2020, says it aims to disrupt companies supplying Israel’s military. Its past actions include breaking into a Royal Air Force base in 2025 and damaging two tanker aircraft. Israel denies committing genocide.

Sources: ITV News, Associated Press via WSLS, Al Jazeera. Photo: US Embassy, Nine Elms, Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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