LONDON: British police have banned campaign group Palestine Action from protesting outside parliament on Monday, a rare move that comes after two of its members broke into a military base last week and as the government considers banning the organization.
The group said in response that it had changed the location of its protest on Monday to Trafalgar Square, which lies just outside the police exclusion zone.
The pro-Palestinian organization is among groups that have regularly targeted defense firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
British media have reported that the government is considering proscribing, or effectively banning, Palestine Action, as a terrorist organization, putting it on a par with Al-Qaeda or Daesh.
London’s Metropolitan Police said late on Sunday that it would impose an exclusion zone for a protest planned by Palestine Action outside the Houses of Parliament — a popular location for protests in support of a range of causes.
“The right to protest is essential and we will always defend it, but actions in support of such a group go beyond what most would see as legitimate protest,” Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said.
“We have laid out to Government the operational basis on which to consider proscribing this group.”
Palestine Action’s members are alleged to have caused millions of pounds of criminal damage, assaulted a police officer with a sledgehammer and, in the incident last week, damaged two military aircraft, Rowley added.
UK police ban Palestine Action protest outside parliament
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UK police ban Palestine Action protest outside parliament
- The pro-Palestinian organization is among groups that have regularly targeted defense firms and other companies in Britain linked to Israel since the start of the conflict in Gaza
Russia attacks two Ukrainian ports, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels
- Kyiv says Russia used drones and missiles for strikes
- Moscow vowed retaliation for Kyiv’s attacks on tanker fleet
KYIV: Russia attacked two Ukrainian ports on Friday, damaging three Turkish-owned vessels including a ship carrying food supplies, Ukrainian officials and one ship owner said, days after Moscow threatened to cut “Ukraine off from the sea.”
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed retaliation against Kyiv’s maritime drone attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” tankers thought to be used to export oil, which Kyiv says is Russia’s main source of funding for its almost four-year-old war.
The attack on Friday came hours after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Putin that a limited ceasefire for energy facilities and ports could be beneficial.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photos which showed a large fire burning aboard a ship in the port of Chornomorsk in Odesa region, with firefighters tackling the blaze.
“This proves once again that Russians not only fail to take the current opportunity for diplomacy seriously enough, but also continue the war precisely to destroy normal life in Ukraine,” he said.
That vessel’s owner, Cenk Shipping, said the Cenk T vessel had been subject to attack around 1600 Ukraine time (1400 GMT).
There were no casualties among the crew, and damage was limited, it added.
Reuters verified the moment of the attack seen on a video published on X. The vessel in the clip matched Cenk T, and the cranes and buildings matched satellite imagery of the Chornomorsk port.
Fabian Hinz, research fellow for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the weapon seen was a Russian Geran-2 drone in its loitering configuration.
Russia’s defense ministry did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
“The strike is aimed at civilian logistics and commercial shipping,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.
Navigation safety targeted
Russia attacked Ukrainian ports with drones and ballistic missiles, Kuleba added.
He said that one employee of a private company had been injured in a separate attack on Odesa port, and that a cargo loader had been damaged there.
Ukraine’s navy spokesperson told Reuters that three vessels were damaged in total, all Turkish-owned. But the spokesperson did not provide additional details.
Turkiye’s foreign ministry confirmed damage in the Chornomorsk port, adding that there were no reports of injured Turkish citizens.
Reuters was able to verify the vessel by the design and name of the bow that matched file imagery of the Cenk T vessel.
“We reiterate the need for an arrangement whereby, in order to prevent escalation in the Black Sea, attacks targeting navigational safety as well as the parties’ energy and port infrastructure are suspended,” the ministry’s statement said.
The three large Black Sea ports in the Odesa region are a key economic artery for Ukraine, which is a major commodities exporter.
In addition to the attacks on Moscow’s “shadow fleet” tankers, Ukraine has ramped up pressure on Russia by hitting targets in the Caspian Sea this week, including vessels allegedly carrying military equipment and a major oil rig.
