A male member of Palestine Action hit a policewoman in the back with a sledgehammer and broke her spine

Why oh why is this illustrated with an image of children in wreckage in Gaza? Disgusting

They will all have sledgehammers because the Palestine Action training manual tells them to have sledgehammers and advises them on how to buy them without being traced.

The point of the organisation is 'direct action'

Sitting in the road supporting such an organisation shows support for direct action too, such as those used on a police woman who was laying on the floor and security guards.

I hope the organisation remains proscribed due to its stated intentions. It is awful to think individuals actually think this type of direct action is acceptable here in the UK. This doesn't of course actually help Palestinians at all.

Sledgehammers may arguably be used to damage property but whips are definitely to use on people. Can you imagine hitting someone with a sledgehammer? Horrific.

The video is then said to show Samuel Corner approaching Sgt Evans and striking her back with a sledgehammer.

"Having hit her once, he raised the sledgehammer again and hit her with it a second time," said Ms Heer.

"Fortunately, Sgt Evans was wearing a stab vest which may have absorbed the force of the impacts. Nevertheless she screamed in pain as she felt the force of the blows.

"She was immediately terrified that her spine had been damaged and when she tried, she was unable to get up."

Sgt Evans suffered a fractured spine and was unable to work for three months. Due to the ongoing impact of the injury, she has been confined to restricted duties.

Seems not just 1 isolated violent representative with a sledgehammer, others also had them.

"Each of the group was armed with a sledgehammer, Heer told the jury. While the implements were intended to be used to damage property, the defendants had also been prepared to deploy them as “weapons” against people if necessary, she said.

“The evidence demonstrates that all of these defendants used them for that purpose — to threaten or to attack the security guards and to lend support to one another as they did so”.

She added: “When the police arrived, as the defendants knew they would, Samuel Corner attacked them, going so far as to strike a female officer across the back with his sledgehammer while she was on the floor, facing away from him.”

The footage was taken from CCTV in the factory and nearby buildings, as well as cameras worn by security and police. Some of the clips were recorded by the alleged members of Palestine Action themselves and were taken from their devices after their arrest.

One of the clips shows a security guard, armed only with an umbrella, appearing to retreat as three figures approach him. Another clip shows a security guard with blood over his face."

Its captured on CCTV and bodycam so easily shown in court.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/uk-six-palestine-action-activists-stand-trial-over-elbit-systems-attack

The sledgehammer brigade

https://socialistworker.co.uk/palestine-2023/doj-activists-defy-palestine-action-ban-outside-ministry-of-justice/

The idiots are out again.

Quite.

Indeed. Make the twisting and turning make sense.

Is it so hard for people to not support a proscribed terrorist organisation and excuse/minimise or try to explain away violent actions and multi million pound criminal damage.

I mean seriously, it is possible to support Palestinians without sitting down in the road supporting a proscribed terrorist organisation! Seems some people really are idiots, and have been shown to be. I guess doubling down proves it as well.

Totally.

But it does mean no fucker should be supporting Palestine Action, and it means all the people sitting in the road with signs looking helpless were backing up and assisting and supporting murderous bastards- and they should have known better.

but it doesn’t mean Israel are any less wrong.

No it doesn’t, not at all.
But these stupid and violent Palestine Action people will possibly turn the generally sympathetic public against all those trying to stand up for the Palestinian cause.

edited for typo

Wait wait!
People are still saying, ’ah, but he wasn’t a real Palestinian Action supporter…’

So we describe anyone who is violent in support of Palestian Action- a group proscribed for violence- as ‘not true PA’.

Right oh. Makes sense.

If you really don’t want to be seen as a useful idiot, pay attention. Stop being an idiot. This man is a representative of that group, shouting their slogans, at an action they organised. You can’t disown him as an outlier. Unless you are an idiot of course.

Palestine Action isnt the only group protesting about Gaza. They are, however a proscribed terrorist organisation, as it seems now, justifiably. There were plenty of other organisations people could have joined. If you have naively supported PA then you are condoning people turning up with sledgehammers and whips and beating up police and security guards and committing Criminal damage, because that's what they do.

This is shameful, but it doesn’t mean Israel are any less wrong.

But it wasn’t just one person was it? Sure only one broke the police officer’s back but others have been charged with violent attacks on people in the same incident. They took an axe, sledgehammers, fireworks. Attacked security guards. They launched fireworks at the security guard.

The security guard had blood pouring down his face, teeth knocked out, cuts and abrasions. He needed his head stapled back together

He passionately swung a sledgehammer into the back of a prone woman....twice.

What connection to Palestine does he have to make him so passionate? Should we expect this from people who are passionate about the situation in Yemen,Sudan, Nigeria, Tibet, Ukraine, Syria.......

This is the thing. I have been on a great many protests for al sorts of causes and there are always people there who don't care about the actual issue being protested, they are there for the thrill and drama of disobedience and if they get a chance to turn it violent they will do so. This individual I will agree is scum but he's more likely to be a opportunistic and misogynistic violent thug who is equally unpleasant when attending anti-immigration protests, rather than a genuine member of a pro-palestine group.

The man who used a sledgehammer on the policewoman’s back, and broke her back, is nothing but psychopathic thug using Palestine as an excuse

You can't possibly know that. People who are passionate about a cause can and do commit awful acts, especially in the heat of the moment, without being psychopaths. You are propagating the idea that no one who is sincere about supporting Palestine could possibly do such a thing. I don't think that's true.

But there will still be people here supporting pal action and Hamas who killed 1200 on Oct 7

Oh dear. Nobody is saying that everyone who has been holding banners in support of PA are going to wield a sledgehammer and attack people. However if you’re holding a banner which says you support PA it is condoning that level of violence

people could hold a banner in general support of Palestine without supporting that specific organisation

so yes, I’d judge and label anyone still supporting them.

Someone who is Jewish or Israeli can’t exactly stop being Jewish or Israeli because of the actions of the Israeli government. Plenty of Jewish people and even Israelis disagree with the actions Israel took/are taking

This. Some people are either naive, dumb or dont give a toss that others are seriously hurt by Palestine Action.

Proscribed for a reason, they dont give all details to 'random idiot on the internet' to approve first.

More like you can't criticise everyone for being born in a particular country, you can criticise everyone who supports a terror group.

Plenty of people support the people of Gaza without promoting PA or other terror groups.