It is believed that the new Mural Fresco of the High Court of London criticizes the repression of Great Britain against the protests in solidarity with Palestine Action Group.
Posted on September 8, 2025
Anonymous street artist Banksy has unveiled a new mural on the High Court of London, representing a judge hitting a demonstrator with a hammer, in what seems to be a comment on the mass arrests of demonstrators supporting the action of Palestine of the prohibited campaign group.
The anonymous artist shared the images of the work on Instagram on Monday. The part in the shutter shows a disturbed judge dropping a hammer on a demonstrator extended on the ground, tightening a pancard stained with blood.
Wall paint was painted a few days after nearly 900 people were held during a demonstration in London opposing the proscription by the government of action in Palestine.
The work of art has since been entirely covered by the British police, after having attracted curious passers -by.
In July, Great Britain appointed the network of activists a “terrorist organization” after its members stormed a base of the Royal Air Force and damaged military aircraft. Support or membership of the group now has criminal sanctions.
But groups for defending rights and activists have accused the British government of criminalizing pro-Palestinian activism, saying that the ban threatens the right to protest peaceful.
Lawyers and defenders of civil liberties argue that the proscription of action in Palestine establishes a dangerous precedent to restrict activism on questions of foreign policy, Amnesty International calling for the decision by the Labor government “a disturbing legal exercise”.
Activists accused the Labor government led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of having authorized the export of military articles to Israel. In the middle of the mounting pressure, Starmer announced last month to recognize the state of Palestine.
Banksy has long used his work to highlight Palestinian struggles under Israeli occupation. His murals in occupied West Bank include those who represent a girl carrying out a body search on an Israeli soldier, a dove carrying a flak jacket and a masked demonstrator launching a bouquet.
In 2017, he opened the “Walled Off Hotel” in Bethlehem, designed to offer what he called “the worst view of the world”, a direct reference to the separation barrier of Israel known as the apartheid wall, which is in front of the hotel.
The wall which extends over more than 700 km (435 miles) on Palestinian land inside the occupied West Bank was qualified as the International Court of Justice in 2004.
One of his most famous West Bank works, a rat armed with a sling, was painted near Bethlehem in 2007. The work was later removed by Israeli art merchants and displayed in an art gallery such as Aviv in 2022.
This decision was condemned by the Jèries Qumsieh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism, who told the Guardian at the time: “It was the theft of the property of the Palestinian people.”
“These were paintings from an international artist for Bethlehem, for Palestine, and for visitors to Bethlehem and Palestine. So transfer, manipulate and steal them is definitively an illegal act,” said Qumsieh.
The latest wall painting in London has already been completed with protective obstacles, emphasizing both the value of Banksy’s art and the controversy it generates. While the artist rarely explains his creations, his constant accent on Palestine guarantees that this new work will be considered a strong criticism of the repression of Great Britain on pro-Palestine activism.
For many of his supporters, the mural of the high court does not only concern the action of Palestine, but also a broader reflection on the way in which the power of the state and the judiciary are exercised against the movements contesting the British political establishment.