Palestine Action proscription must be 'withdrawn', says Green Party leader

The proscription of Palestine Action must be "withdrawn", Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said.

Addressing his party's conference in Bournemouth, Mr Polanski said the Labour government had overseen a "draconian crackdown on the right to protest" by legally banning and labelling the group a terrorist organisation.

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It comes as a group that supports Palestine Action was criticised for planning a march in London on Saturday, days after the attack on a synagogue in Manchester that resulted in the death of two men.

The Met Police has called for a planned protest, organised by Defend Our Juries, to be delayed or cancelled after the incident on Thursday, while Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, called a separate protest held on Thursday in support of Palestine as "dishonorable" and "un-British".

Mr Polanski said he felt Thursday's attack "deeply" as a Jewish man raised in north Manchester, and that "my heart is with our community more widely".

But he repeated his belief that Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to "genocide" and that the UK "must stop selling arms to Israel".

"We must stop sharing intelligence. We will do everything we can to stop the genocide."

The government has suspended some arms exports licences to Israel due to concerns they could be used to violate international law.

However, components for the F35 jets were not included in the ban, except when they were sent directly to Israel, as the UK is part of a supply chain that sells the jets to more than 20 countries.

Mr Polanski went on to say that every MP who had supported the proscription of Palestine Action as terrorist organisation should "hang their heads in shame".

"We cannot talk about stopping genocide without talking about draconian crackdown on the right to protest happening against those taking action for Palestine; using terrorist legislation to arrest hundreds and hundreds of protesters for simply holding up a sign," he said.

"This country has a proud tradition of protecting civil liberties, but once again, a Labour government is cracking down on our rights from terrorist proscriptions against protesters, to banning journalists from their conference, to diving into a rushed, evidence-free plan for digital IDs that will only discriminate mainly against minorities.

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

Earlier today Mr Polanski, who was elected as Green Party leader last month, clashed with the home secretary on whether pro-Palestine protests should go ahead.

Ms Mahmood said the issues that had been driving the pro-Palestine protests had been "going on for some time" and that those behind the demonstrations could have taken a "step back" to give the Jewish community a "chance to grieve".

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"They could have stepped back and just given a community that has suffered deep loss just a day or two to process what has happened and to carry on with the grieving process," she said.

"I think some humanity could have been shown."

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

"I think ultimately conflating protests against the genocide in Gaza and ultimately weaponising that against an anti-Semitic attack on our streets, a terrorist attack, is deeply irresponsible," he told Sky News Breakfast.

The Green Party leader said it was "worrying when governments are increasingly trying to crush down dissent" and using "what is a brutal attack... to try and make a point about protest".

"We need statesmanship at this moment. We need responsibility," he added.