Two London Women Charged with Terrorism Offences for Displaying Hamas Paraglider Images at Pro-Palestine Rally

Londoners Heba Alhayek and Pauline Ankunda arrested for promoting proscribed organization Hamas in recent pro-Palestinian protest, face potential six months imprisonment.

Heba Alhayek, 29, and Pauline Ankunda, 26, both from South London, were arrested for allegedly displaying images of paragliders attributed to Hamas during a pro-Palestinian march in London, sparking terrorism-related charges.
The images in question were interpreted as supporting Hamas due to their parallels with a recent attack where Hamas militants utilized paragliders to cross into Israel from Gaza, resulting in the death of 1,400 civilians.
If found guilty, both women face up to six months of imprisonment under the Terrorism Act 2000, which prescribes legal action against individuals associated with proscribed organisations like Hamas.
British law enforcement has faced criticism regarding their handling of these pro-Palestinian protests, both for their approach to controlling displays of support towards marked terrorist groups and in addressing charges of anti-Semitic hate speech.
Existing police efforts to identify further pro-Hamas agitators at similar future protests will include the use of retrospective facial recognition and social media analysis.