UK’s Palestine Action loses bid to pause ban as ‘terrorist’ group

London High Court upholds bid that critics accidental puts the group’s anti-Gaza warfare protesters connected a par with al-Qaeda, ISIL.

Pro-Palestinian run radical Palestine Action‘s cofounder has mislaid a bid to intermission the British government’s determination to prohibition the organisation nether “anti-terrorism” laws pending their ineligible challenge.

Huda Ammori, who helped recovered Palestine Action successful 2020, had asked London’s High Court to halt the proscription of Palestine Action arsenic a “terrorist” organisation.

On Friday, the tribunal heard a situation to the order, and Judge Martin Chamberlain ruled against Ammori, meaning the proscription of Palestine Action is upheld and volition travel into unit astatine midnight.

The proscription came aft British lawmakers this week decided to prohibition Palestine Action aft its activists broke into a military base past period and sprayed reddish overgarment connected 2 planes successful protestation astatine the UK’s enactment for Israel’s warfare connected Gaza.

Proscription would marque it a transgression to beryllium a subordinate of Palestine Action that carries a maximum condemnation of 14 years successful prison. Proscribed groups nether British instrumentality see ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda.

Ammori’s lawyer Raza Husain said the proscription marked the archetypal clip the UK had sought to prohibition a radical carrying retired specified nonstop action, describing it arsenic “an ill-considered, discriminatory, authoritarian maltreatment of statutory power”.

The constabulary person swarmed protestors extracurricular the Royal Court of Justice.

We volition not let them to intimidate us.

The protestation volition proceed – determination expected astatine 5.30. pic.twitter.com/9C1R538WvJ

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) July 4, 2025

Protesters gathered extracurricular the UK’s Royal Court of Justice during Friday’s ruling. Police swarmed the crowd, but Palestine Action said that its protests volition not stop.

After the parliamentary ballot against the organisation on Wednesday, critics decried the chilling effect of the ban, which puts the non-violent campaigners connected a par with equipped groups similar ISIL and al-Qaeda.

“Let america beryllium clear: to equate a spray tin of overgarment with a termination weaponry isn’t conscionable absurd, it is grotesque. It is simply a deliberate distortion of the instrumentality to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity, and suppress the truth,” said autarkic British lawmaker Zarah Sultana.

‘Draconian, silly move’

Brendon Ciaran Browne, subordinate prof astatine Trinity College Dublin, told Al Jazeera the UK government’s determination is “absolutely absurd”.

“Essentially, what we’re witnessing here, is an effort to enforce a chill effect connected everyone who is perfectly abhorred by the UK government’s complicity [in Israel’s warfare connected Gaza] and their flagrant breaches of planetary instrumentality that we person seen present for the champion portion of 21 months,” helium said connected Friday.

Referring to Palestine Action’s stunt astatine a British subject base, Browne noted that the UK authorities has existing authorities to woody with this.

“Those who are allegedly progressive tin beryllium charged with transgression damage. There are different ways to bash this. But what you’re seeing present is the UK authorities again utilizing the coercion enactment to people those who are engaged successful nonstop enactment … This is simply a draconian, silly determination by the UK government,” helium added.

Palestine Action describes itself arsenic “a pro-Palestinian organisation which disrupts the arms manufacture successful the United Kingdom with nonstop action”. It says it is “committed to ending planetary information successful Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the UK’s interior minister, has said that unit and transgression harm person nary spot successful morganatic protest, and her lawyers accidental the lawsuit should beryllium brought astatine the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission instead.

Rights groups person accused Israel of repeatedly committing abuses successful its warfare successful Gaza, which began connected October 7, 2023. Since then, astatine slightest 57,268 Palestinians person been killed and 135,625 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies