On the very day Israeli forces massacred over 30 Palestinians queuing for aid in Gaza, British police arrested more than 100 people across the UK, not for acts of violence or incitement, but for expressing support for Palestine Action, a direct-action group recently designated a terrorist organisation by the British government.
Gaza: Starvation Meets State Slaughter
Eyewitnesses and hospital officials report that Israeli troops opened fire on unarmed Palestinians near food distribution points in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people and injuring over 100 others. Many of the victims had gathered near centres operated by the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) — an organisation jointly backed by Israel and the United States — which began aid operations only after Israel’s brutal 11-week blockade was partially lifted.
According to survivors, Israeli forces fired indiscriminately, with some reports alleging the use of tank-mounted machine guns and drones. “It was a massacre,” said Mahmoud Mokeimar, describing how troops shot into the crowds as they advanced towards aid lorries. Another witness, Akram Aker, said the army “encircled us and started firing directly at us.”
The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis confirmed it had received 25 dead bodies. Seven more people, including a woman, were killed near Rafah. Israeli forces claim to fire only warning shots, a line that rings increasingly hollow as bodies pile up.
This atrocity is only the latest in a relentless campaign that has killed over 58,000 Palestinians since October 2023, when Hamas launched its attack on Israel. Nearly two million people in Gaza now face a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with aid sporadic, infrastructure annihilated, and hunger widespread.
The GHF insists that fatalities at its sites are caused by stampedes, even as hundreds have now reportedly been killed while trying to access food. It accuses Hamas of stoking panic, yet offers no evidence.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army, which claims to “secure” the aid zones from a distance, remains complicit in what can only be described as the weaponisation of hunger.
Britain: Criminalising Solidarity
While Palestinians were being gunned down for approaching food handouts, British citizens were being arrested for carrying signs. Peaceful demonstrators gathered in London, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh, and Truro, only to be detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 for showing support for Palestine Action.
In Westminster’s Parliament Square alone, 55 people were arrested for carrying placards that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Others were led away in handcuffs, treated like criminals for daring to challenge state-sanctioned violence abroad.
Arrests included:
- 18 in Manchester
- 17 in Bristol
- 8 near Truro Cathedral
- 8 more in Whitehall during a separate pro-Palestine march
Displaying a T-shirt or badge bearing Palestine Action’s name now risks a six-month sentence. Active support? Up to 14 years in prison.
The Met Police issued a chilling warning ahead of the protests, promising to arrest anyone who echoed pro-Palestinian chants heard at Glastonbury Festival. This marks a new frontier in Britain’s war on dissent: the suppression of political speech under the guise of counter-terrorism.
Palestine Action was proscribed just two weeks ago, following an alleged sabotage of aircraft at RAF Brize Norton. The move, spearheaded by new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, appears more politically motivated than grounded in public safety, a clear attempt to silence those targeting the UK’s complicity in Israeli war crimes, particularly arms exports to Israel.
From Gaza to Westminster: Repression Without Borders
What connects Gaza’s blood-soaked aid queues to Britain’s arrested protesters is a shared regime of repression. Palestinians are killed for seeking bread; Britons are arrested for speaking out. Both are punished not for violence, but for their resistance to it.
The British state, far from championing international law or human rights, is aligning itself squarely with the forces that are bombarding refugee camps, hospitals and food convoys. Meanwhile, those who challenge this, through direct action, protest, or even a placard, are being dragged through the courts under the language of terrorism.
The question must now be asked: who are the real terrorists, those dropping bombs on starving civilians, or those trying to stop the bombs from falling?
The Government are on the wrong side of history:
— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) July 19, 2025
