Six people were arrested by British authorities on Sunday as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.
London’s Metropolitan Police said the conspirators were members of the Palestine Action protest group, according to Reuters.
The suspects intended to cause damage and block the exchange in such a way as to prevent its opening, police said.
According to the BBC, the six suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause criminal damage.
Those arrested included both men and women, and they were arrested in London, Liverpool and Brighton, police said.
“These are significant arrests,” Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas said. “We 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.”
Palestine Action seemed to acknowledge it was behind the plan in a social media post on Sunday.
BREAKING: Several actionists were arrested for allegedly conspiring to shut down the London Stock Exchange, who raise billions of pounds for apartheid Israel.
They were infiltrated by an undercover journalist, but the campaign to end Israel’s weapons trade remains undeterred!
— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) January 14, 2024
The Metropolitan Police said they were “mindful of the suggestion that this was one part of a planned week of action.”
Some examples of such “action” include what occurred in Washington on Saturday: a massive protest that ended in front of the White House.
The Secret Service had erected fencing in anticipation of the demonstration — and the crowd shook it so hard that panels started to break loose.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
📍The White House:
BREAKING
Protestors have breached the reinforced gate and riot police have confronted them – other protestors began scaling the fence
WATCH: pic.twitter.com/HuQ6sBUC1N
— Wid Lyman (@Wid_Lyman) January 14, 2024
Non-essential personnel were evacuated for “safety,” and the Secret Service came out in droves to secure the exterior fencing, the New York Post reported.
No arrests were made.
The level of disruption allowed by Pro-Palestinian demonstrators has reached a staggering level of tolerance: They have shut down airports, closed bridges, disrupted the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York and attempted to swarm the White House.
Will the conflict in the Middle East soon expand into a wider war?
Targeting the London Stock Exchange raises the stakes and makes it impossible to continue to call these actions just “protests” or “demonstrations.” These actions are a rising crescendo, and if left unchecked, they will reach a climatic peak that is far worse than what we have seen.
Shutting down a nation’s stock exchange for policy blackmail is economic terrorism, not a protest.
And if the West does not respond in accordance with the values we believe and cherish, including an unequivocal answer to what is good and evil, other voices will fill the vacuum, further muddying the waters of moral clarity.
