Palestine Action hunger striker arrested in dawn raid by masked police

Footage circulated online appeared to show 21-year-old Qesser Zuhrah, who had recently been granted bail after spending 15 months on remand, being arrested at her home by police officers at around 6:30am on Monday morning. In the footage, a masked officer informs her that she is being arrested under Section 44 of the Serious Crimes Act, the offence of encouraging others to commit crimes, and Section 1 of the Terrorism Act, encouraging others to commit an act of terrorism. In the video footage, officers inform her that she is being taken to Hatfield police station. Zuhrah can be heard asking why the police officers are masked. Counter Terrorism Policing told Middle East Eye: Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing South East arrested a woman at her home address in Watford this morning. It said it was looking into why the arresting officers were wearing masks. Zuhrah was already facing charges in connection with a raid on Israeli-owned arms factory in August 2024. She is part of a group of two dozen activists arrested over the incident known as the Filton 24. Free the Filton 24, a campaign group supporting the defendants, reported that the arrest came after she allegedly posted an Instagram story calling for people to take direct action. Met Police accused of reversing Palestine Action policy to fit previous arrests Read More » Palestine Action, a direct-action group protesting against Israeli war crimes, was proscribed by the British government in July 2025, months after Zuhrah's first arrest. The government is appealing a Hugh Court ruling that the ban was unlawful. Zuhrah was one of eight Palestine Action-linked prisoners who launched a 73-day hunger strike over their detention conditions. Zuhrah went 46 days without food and was hospitalised multiple times. Last week, she spoke at a news conference with three other hunger strikers, alleging mistreatment in prison. Zuhrah, who was also held HMP Bronzefield, said she was left immobile on her cell floor for 22 hours with worsening chest pains, 40 days into her hunger strike. She also reported that throughout her imprisonment, she was subjected to prolonged periods of solitary confinement and segregated from other prisoners. Zuhrah was released in February along with 22 co-defendants after charges of aggravated burglary in connection with the break-in at the Elbit Systems plant were dropped. Palestine Action News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0