UPDATE: Five people have now been arrested following the protest - you can read the full story HERE.
PRO-PALESTINE climbed the UK Government offices in Edinburgh and covered the building in red paint on Wednesday morning.
Three protesters, understood to be with the This Is Rigged group, are currently climbing the exterior of the building.
Another threw water balloons full of red paint at the UK Government’s crest.
The group also said one person threw the UK flag from the top of the building and replaced it with a Palestinian one.
**BREAKING**
— Ragged Trousered Philanderer (@RaggedTP) March 6, 2024
RIGHT NOW
UK government buildings Edinburgh 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/6dnlcVzbeQ
Police have since confirmed that five people have been arrested in connection with the protest and that enquiries remain ongoing.
This is Rigged said the action is a "protest against Israel's ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people" and it said it was calling out the UK's complicity in this.
One of the protesters, a 21-year-old from Perthshire, said: "As long as the UK Government refuses to call for a ceasefire, we will continue to call not in Scotland's name
"As Palestine is bombed, burned and starved, this Government is complicit. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of screaming out into the world that we will not abide genocide."
The protest comes amid a new UN report which has described widespread abuse of Palestinian detainees in Israeli detention centres, including beatings, dog attacks, the prolonged use of stress positions and sexual assault.
READ MORE: Public foot bill as Tory minister libels Scottish university academic
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel's bombardment of Gaza in October.
The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) has said it stands in solidarity with the action taken by This is Rigged.
Mick Napier of the SPSC said: "Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign fully supports the action by activists from This is Rigged to highlight the UK Government and official 'opposition' support for genocide flies in the face of British and Scottish public opinion.
"We call upon others to act in this spirit in opposition to a genocide supported by the UK Government."
A UK Government spokesperson said: "We are aware of the protests and the police are in attendance. All of the staff in Queen Elizabeth House are safe and no one has entered the building."
The latest action comes amid a series of protests from This is Rigged, with two people arrested on Tuesday for targeting the Scott Monument in Edinburgh with soup-spraying fire extinguishers.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 10.30am on Wednesday, 6 March, 2024 we were called to a report of a protest at a building in Sibbald Walk in Edinburgh.
"Five people have been arrested and enquiries are ongoing."
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