Palestine Action proscription must be 'withdrawn', says Green Party leader

The proscription of Palestine Action indispensable beryllium "withdrawn", Green Party person Zack Polanski has said.

Addressing his party's league successful Bournemouth, Mr Polanski said the Labour authorities had overseen a "draconian crackdown connected the close to protest" by legally banning and labelling the radical a violent organisation.

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It comes arsenic a radical that supports Palestine Action was criticised for readying a march successful London connected Saturday, days aft the onslaught connected a synagogue successful Manchester that resulted successful the decease of 2 men.

The Met Police has called for a planned protest, organised by Defend Our Juries, to beryllium delayed oregon cancelled aft the incidental connected Thursday, portion Shabana Mahmood, the location secretary, called a abstracted protestation held connected Thursday successful enactment of Palestine arsenic "dishonorable" and "un-British".

Mr Polanski said helium felt Thursday's onslaught "deeply" arsenic a Jewish antheral raised successful northbound Manchester, and that "my bosom is with our assemblage much widely".

But helium repeated his content that Israel's actions successful Gaza amounted to "genocide" and that the UK "must halt selling arms to Israel".

"We indispensable halt sharing intelligence. We volition bash everything we tin to halt the genocide."

The authorities has suspended immoderate arms exports licences to Israel owed to concerns they could beryllium utilized to interruption planetary law.

However, components for the F35 jets were not included successful the ban, but erstwhile they were sent straight to Israel, arsenic the UK is portion of a proviso concatenation that sells the jets to much than 20 countries.

Mr Polanski went connected to accidental that each MP who had supported the proscription of Palestine Action arsenic violent organisation should "hang their heads successful shame".

"We cannot speech astir stopping genocide without talking astir draconian crackdown connected the close to protestation happening against those taking enactment for Palestine; utilizing violent authorities to apprehension hundreds and hundreds of protesters for simply holding up a sign," helium said.

"This state has a arrogant contented of protecting civilian liberties, but erstwhile again, a Labour authorities is cracking down connected our rights from violent proscriptions against protesters, to banning journalists from their conference, to diving into a rushed, evidence-free program for integer IDs that volition lone discriminate chiefly against minorities.

"The alarm bells of authoritarianism are ringing large and clear."

Earlier contiguous Mr Polanski, who was elected arsenic Green Party person past month, clashed with the location caput connected whether pro-Palestine protests should spell ahead.

Ms Mahmood said the issues that had been driving the pro-Palestine protests had been "going connected for immoderate time" and that those down the demonstrations could person taken a "step back" to springiness the Jewish assemblage a "chance to grieve".

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"They could person stepped backmost and conscionable fixed a assemblage that has suffered heavy nonaccomplishment conscionable a time oregon 2 to process what has happened and to transportation connected with the grieving process," she said.

"I deliberation immoderate humanity could person been shown."

In response, Mr Polanski branded the location secretary's comments "deeply irresponsible".

"I deliberation yet conflating protests against the genocide successful Gaza and yet weaponising that against an anti-Semitic onslaught connected our streets, a violent attack, is profoundly irresponsible," helium told Sky News Breakfast.

The Green Party person said it was "worrying erstwhile governments are progressively trying to crush down dissent" and utilizing "what is simply a brutal attack... to effort and marque a constituent astir protest".

"We request statesmanship astatine this moment. We request responsibility," helium added.