LONDON – Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in London on Tuesday for holding a sign in support of pro-Palestinian activists on hunger strike in British prisons.
In a video posted by protest group Prisoners for Palestine, Thunberg, 22, can be seen holding a sign that reads, “I support Palestine prisoners.” I stand against genocide.”
Palestine Action, a UK-based direct action protest group, was classified as a terrorist organization by the British government in July after it caused millions of dollars in damage to defense firms.
Following the ban, hundreds of people were arrested across the country for taking part in protests against the ban, which was subsequently challenged in the High Court in London.
In a video released by Prisoners for Palestine, the group said it targeted the central London offices of Aspen Insurance because it provides services to Israeli-linked defense firm Elbit Systems.
Two activists sprayed red paint on the building's façade before police arrived and made arrests.
Asked by NBC News about Thunberg's arrest, City of London Police said in a statement that “hammers and red paint were used to damage a building on Fenchurch Street.”
“A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. They are stuck nearby and officers are working to free them and transfer them into police custody,” it added.
“A short time later, a 22-year-old woman was also present at the scene. She was arrested for displaying an object (in this case a poster) in support of a proscribed organization (in this case Palestine Action), contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.”
British police never disclose the names of those arrested. Only after people are charged are their names made public.
Last year, Thunberg was cleared of public order charges in Britain after a judge ruled that police did not have the power to arrest her and others during a protest in London a year earlier.
But Thunberg has openly declared her support for the people of the Gaza Strip and was detained by Israeli authorities while on a boat trying to deliver a symbolic package assistance to the Palestinian enclave by sea.
Gaza has been under an Israeli naval blockade since 2007, when Hamas came to power.
Thunberg said the missions are needed amid global silence on Israel's military operations in Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble by two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli forces have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,200 people killed and about 250 taken hostage.
