UK says it will restrict repeated protests after 500 arrests at pro-Palestinian vigil

LONDON (AP) — British police will get stronger powers to restrict repeated protests, the government said Sunday, after almost 500 people were arrested at a demonstration in support of a banned pro-Palestinian group.

The Home Office said police forces will be able to consider the “cumulative impact of frequent protests” on local areas when they impose conditions on marches and demonstrations.

“The right to protest is a fundamental freedom in our country,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said. “However, this freedom must be balanced with the freedom of their neighbors to live their lives without fear. Large, repeated protests can leave sections of our country, particularly religious communities, feeling unsafe, intimidated and scared to leave their homes.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held regularly since the start of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry that is part of the Hamas-run government. The U.N. and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties.

The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, but some people say they have allowed antisemitism to spread. Some Jews say they feel threatened by chants such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” A handful of pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested for supporting Hamas, which is banned in the U.K.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have frequently accused critics of Israel or its conduct of the war in Gaza of antisemitism. Israel’s detractors see it as an attempt to stifle even legitimate criticism.

British police and politicians had urged protesters to stay home this weekend after Thursday's attack on a synagogue in Manchester that left two Jewish men dead. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that organizers should “recognize and respect the grief of British Jews this week” and postpone.

But on Saturday, about 1,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square to protest against the banning of Palestine Action, a direct-action group that has vandalized British military planes and targeted sites with links to the Israeli military. It has been labeled a terrorist organization by the government, making support for the group illegal.

Critics say the government is restricting free speech and the right to protest.

Police officers carried away a number of people who sat silently holding signs that said, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” Police said they made 488 arrests for supporting the outlawed organization, and a handful for other offenses.

More than 2,000 people have now been arrested at protests since Palestine Action was proscribed in July, and more than 130 charged with terrorism offenses.

Defend Our Juries, the group that organized Saturday’s demonstration, said the government's “extraordinary new affront to our democracy will only fuel the growing backlash to the ban.”

The war in the Palestinian enclave was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Southern Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage. The Palestinian militant group said Saturday it was willing to return all remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, and the bodies of the dead in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

Hundreds of people waving Israeli and British flags rallied in London and Manchester on Sunday to mark two years since Oct. 7, demand the hostages' release and mourn the victims of the synagogue attack.

Mahmood, the home secretary, said she was worried about the state of community relations in Britain, amid a “rising tide of antisemitism” and other forms of hatred.

“There are clearly malign and dark forces running amok across our country,” she told Times Radio.

Police said they were treating a suspected arson attack on a mosque on England’s south coast as a hate crime. No one was injured in the fire Saturday at the Peacehaven Community Center, which damaged the front door of the building and a car outside.

People attend a protest outside Manchester Cathedral following an attack at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, where two people died, in Manchester, England, Sunday Oct. 5, 2025. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

People take part in a demonstration organized by GM Friends of Palestine at Manchester Cathedral, in Manchester, England, Saturday, Oct. 4 2025. (Ryan Jenkinson/PA via AP)

Police remove a protester after a banner was unfurled on Westminster Bridge, London, as part of a demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, in support of Palestine Action, Saturday Oct. 4, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)

Police remove a protester taking part in a demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, in support of Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square, London Saturday Oct. 4, 2025. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

Police remove a protester taking part in a demonstration organised by Defend our Juries, in support of Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square, London Saturday Oct. 4, 2025. (Maja Smiejkowska/PA via AP)

MONGKOL BOREY, Cambodia (AP) — Heavy combat between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second week on Monday, with Phnom Penh claiming that Thai bombing is hitting deeper into its territory, coming close to shelters for people who had already fled dangerous areas along the border.

According to Cambodia’s defense and information ministries, Thai F-16 fighter jets dropped two bombs shortly after 10 a.m. near camps for displaced people in Oddar Meanchey and Siem Reap provinces.

The bombing in Siem Reap's Srei Snam district, more than 70 kilometers (43 miles) inside Cambodian territory, targeted a bridge, Cambodian authorities said. The province is home to the world-famous Angkor Wat temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the country’s biggest tourist attraction.

Asked about the attack at a news conference, Thailand's Air Marshal Jackkrit Thammavichai, spokesperson of the air force, offered an oblique confirmation of the bombing.

“According to the international law and the rules of engagement, a military target is not defined based on the distance from the border," he said. “It’s actually defined based on the characteristic and objective of the use of that facility for military purposes.”

He said Thailand's air force abides by international law by not targeting civilians and that Monday's operation didn’t impact Cambodian civilians nearby.

Access to the combat zone and nearby areas is limited, so few claims by either side can be independently verified.

The two sides are battling over longstanding competing claims to patches of frontier land, some of which contain centuries-old temple ruins.

More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in the past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced, according to officials.

Thai officials issued an estimate of what damage has been inflicted on Cambodia’s military since a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers ignited large-scale fighting. They said Cambodian losses included 12 tanks, 10 armored vehicles, four anti-aircraft artillery systems, seven artillery pieces, five anti-drone systems, 175 drones, five communication hubs and one BM-21 mobile rocket launcher.

Thailand says Cambodia has fired thousands of rockets from the truck-mounted BM-21 launchers, which have a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles) and can fire up to 40 projectiles at a time.

Thailand’s government announced on Sunday that a rocket attack from Cambodia had killed a 63-year-old villager, its first civilian death reported as a direct result of combat.

Col. Ritcha Suksuwanon, a Thai army deputy spokesperson, said on Sunday that an intact Chinese GAM-102LR guided anti-tank missile system was seized. Thailand estimates among Cambodia’s losses some 82 military positions and 505 Cambodian military personnel reportedly killed.

Cambodia has dismissed as disinformation previous Thai estimates of its military death toll but has not released its own figures. Thailand acknowledges the deaths of 16 of its troops.

Phnom Penh said Monday that 15 civilians have been killed and 73 wounded.

Thai officials also said they were trying to cut off the supply of fuel and weapons to Cambodia, but denied reports that a full-scale naval blockade would be mounted. Capt. Nara Khunkothom, assistant spokesperson for the Thai navy, said only Thai-registered vessels would be subject to their controls in what they have officially designated a “high-risk area” in the Gulf of Thailand.

Officials also said fuel and weapons would no longer be allowed to go through a major land checkpoint to neighboring Laos that is close to Cambodian territory, declaring that military supplies and logistical support must be cut off.

In a surprise admission, Thai officials implicitly acknowledged that attacks had damaged centuries-old Ta Kwai temple — known to Cambodians as Ta Krabey — in a disputed area, but blamed Cambodia for allegedly using it as a military stronghold.

Phnombootra Chandrajoti, director-general of Thailand's Fine Arts Department, said that historical sites should not be used as bases for military operations and that the most important priority is that Thailand must secure and preserve the area.

The new fighting derailed a ceasefire promoted by U.S. President Donald Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July. It had been brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.

Trump announced this past Friday that the two countries had agreed at his urging to renew the ceasefire, but Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul denied making any commitment and Cambodia announced it was continuing to fight in what it said is self-defense.

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Associated Press writers Grant Peck and Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok contributed to this report.

In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), displaced people flee shortly after a Thai bombing near their villages, at Srei Snam district, Siem Reap province, Cambodia, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.(AKP via AP)

Displaced people sit on the floor as they take their refuge in Prey Chamkar Ta Doak market in Banteay Meanchey province, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A displaced people prays as she takes their refuge in Prey Chamkar Ta Doak market in Banteay Meanchey province, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Members of a Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal team inspect the site of a rocket attack during clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A member of a Thai Explosive Ordnance Disposal team shows pieces of shrapnel as they inspect the site of a rocket attack during clashes between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in Kantharalak district of Sisaket province, Thailand, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)