Six people, members of a pro-Palestine activist organization, have been detained for allegedly planning to disrupt operations at the London Stock Exchange.
The Metropolitan Police reported that the activists from Palestine Action intended to execute their plan on Monday morning by causing damage and obstruction.
The group’s strategy involved “locking on,” a tactic aimed at preventing the stock exchange building from opening for trading. This information was initially disclosed by the Daily Express newspaper.
The first arrest in this case was a 31-year-old man in Liverpool on Sunday, apprehended on suspicion of conspiring to cause criminal damage.
Following this, five additional people, suspected of involvement in the same scheme, were arrested later that day for a similar offense, as confirmed by Scotland Yard.
Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas highlighted the gravity of the situation, indicating that they believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully.
A Palestine Action spokesperson told The Independent: “The London Stock Exchange raises billions of pounds for apartheid Israel and trade shares in weapons manufacturers who arm Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.”
“While Britain remains complicit in the brutal colonization of Palestine, our direct action campaign will not be deterred.”
In December 2023, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock emphasized the “urgent need” for a “permanent ceasefire” in Gaza.
The ministers stated that “a very large number of civilians have been killed” in this war, and urged Israel to quickly but permanently end its military operation against Hamas.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) recently declared that the Gaza Strip completed 100 days of a severe humanitarian crisis, characterized by the death of thousands of people and displacement.
