Greenpeace U.K. boss arrested over protest at U.S. Embassy in London over support for Israel
London — One of the heads of Greenpeace U.K. was among six activists arrested Thursday after dumping red dye into a pond outside the U.S. Embassy in London, the group said. The activists were protesting continued weapons sales by the United States to Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
"We took this action because U.S. weapons continue to fuel an indiscriminate war that's seen bombs dropped on schools and hospitals, entire neighborhoods blasted to rubble, and tens of thousands of Palestinian lives obliterated," Areeba Hamid, co-executive director at Greenpeace U.K., said in a statement, confirming that co-executive director Will McCallum was among those detained. "As the biggest supplier of weapons to the Israeli military, the U.S. government bears a heavy responsibility for the horrors unfolding in Gaza."
London's Metropolitan Police said five arrests had taken place outside the U.S. embassy at 7:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. Eastern) after officers noticed people putting dye into the pond. The reason for the discrepancy in the number of people arrested was not immediately clear.
"The group made off but officers responded quickly and carried out a search of the area," the police said. "Five people have so far been arrested nearby on suspicion of criminal damage and conspiracy to cause criminal damage."
The police said there was no security breach of the U.S. embassy grounds during the incident.
"The pond is accessible via a public footpath. There was no breach or attempted breach of the secure perimeter of the site," they said.
