London police arrest 474 people as pro-Palestinian protesters defy new law

British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

LONDON — British police said they arrested 474 people in central London on Saturday as supporters of a recently banned pro-Palestinian group intentionally flouted the law as part of their effort to force the government to reconsider the ban.

Parliament in early July passed a law banning Palestine Action and making it a crime to publicly support the organization. That came after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized two tanker planes to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Backers of the group, who have held a series of protests around the U.K. over the past month, argue that the law illegally restricts freedom of expression.

More than 500 protesters filled the square outside the Houses of Parliament on Saturday, many daring police officers to arrest them by displaying signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That was enough for police to step in.

But as the demonstration began to wind down, police officers and protest organizers sparred over the number of arrests as the organizers sought to show that the law was unworkable.