UK’s top court mulls appeal against terrorism label for Palestine Action group

LONDON — Britain’s highest court on Wednesday heard an appeal against a government ban on activist group Palestine Action, proscribed as a terrorist organization, as police moved to arrest protesters outside.

The two-day hearing at the Supreme Court comes as the ban has failed to quell support for the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian group co-founded by Huda Ammori, leading to mass arrests across the UK.

Multiple protesters carrying signs supporting Palestine Action — prohibited under terrorism laws — were arrested by police on Wednesday. More than 300 supporters were detained at protests over the weekend.

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According to campaign group Defend Our Juries, which has organized demonstrations backing the movement, around 4,200 people have been arrested since the British government outlawed Palestine Action in July last year.

Those detained include large numbers of pensioners, among them a priest, a former financial adviser, a military veteran and Swedish student climate activist Greta Thunberg.

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Public support for Palestine Action is a criminal offense as the ban places the group in the same legal category as the al-Qaeda and Hezbollah terror groups.

The ban followed a series of acts of vandalism linked to members of the movement, including causing 7 million pounds’ ($9.5 million) worth of damage to aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in June 2024 and actions targeting Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in August 2024. During the latter incident, one of the activists struck a security officer with a sledgehammer, resulting in a fractured spine.

It was imposed under the UK’s Terrorism Act and made membership of or support for the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Ammori’s lawyer Raza Husain told the court that out of 385 actions undertaken by the group in the last five years, “only three passed the terrorism threshold.”

“Palestine Action falls within the tradition of a direct action protest group motivated by conscience,” Husain said. The group has “never advocated for violence against… persons,” she added.

In February, London’s High Court dealt a blow to the government, ruling the decision to proscribe Palestine Action was “disproportionate.” The court found the ban had resulted in “substantial interference” with the rights of freedom of expression and assembly.

However, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June, concluding the ban was “not unlawful” and that Palestine Action was “a covert organization operating with secret cells.”

The appeal ruling added that it was “a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism.”

‘Direct action’

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global support for Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”

The organization gained prominence after the outbreak of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s invasion and massacre in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Ammori was granted permission to challenge the ban at the UK’s highest court on narrow procedural grounds, arguing the Home Office failed to follow its own criteria in its decision.

If unsuccessful, Ammori has indicated she will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The Home Office is set to reject the characterization of the group as “non-violent,” according to court documents.

Prominent Jewish groups also said in written submissions supporting the government that the Jewish community was “especially vulnerable to Palestine Action’s violent activities.”

The impact of the proscription has extended beyond the protest movement.

Books by bestselling Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who announced last year that she intended to donate part of her royalty income to Palestine Action, are no longer distributed in Britain.

This month, her British publisher Faber said it could no longer legally transfer UK-generated revenues to Rooney and therefore would cease distributing her books in the country.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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