On July 2, UK lawmakers voted to ban Palestine Action and denounce the group as a terrorist organization, illegalizing any support or participation in the group among citizens. Palestine Action is a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the operations of manufacturers that provide weapons to the Israeli government. Launched in 2020, the group has shared that it utilizes “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in manufacturing weapons for Israel. In the past, Palestine Action protested on the Elbit System’s rooftop for 6 days in 2021 and broke into a Thales equipment factory in 2022, causing damage to weapons worth 1 million pounds ($1.4m). The group’s most recent act of protest was on June 20, when Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, a station of the Royal Air Force, and sprayed two military planes with red paint. They explained that the red paint was meant to symbolize the “Palestinian bloodshed,” and that a Palestine flag was also left on the scene. Manaal Siddiqui, a spokesperson for Palestine Action, shared that the aircraft “can be used to refuel and have been used to refuel Israeli fighter jets” and then “dispatched on spy missions, and that intelligence is shared with the Israeli government and Israeli air forces.” However, Prime Minister Keir Starmer did not see it that way, denouncing the act as vandalism on X (formerly Twitter) and calling it “disgraceful,” arguing that “it is our responsibility to support those who defend us.” His tweet was quickly met with backlash, and investigative journalist John McEvoy questioned, “Precisely how is sending spy planes over Gaza to collect intelligence for a state committing genocide defending us?”
Following the events, on July 23, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper shared that she had decided to proscribe Palestine Action under Terrorism Act 2000. Banning the group under anti-terrorism laws puts it on the same level as armed groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS, making it a criminal offense to partake in it. This response has led to criticism from human rights organizations and protests, resulting in the arrest of 13 protesters on July 24. Protesters were charged with assaulting emergency workers and a racially aggravated offense, as they clashed in London with Metropolitan Police officers. In response to the ban, Palestine Action argued that “The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these warplanes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.” Then, the group accused Starmar of “hypocrisy,” since in 2003, he supported protestors who broke into a RAF base to stop US bombers heading to Iraq when he was still a lawyer. Siddiqui shared that he thought that it was “a very knee-jerk reaction from an embarrassed government, and it’s an overblown reaction.”
Politicians and advocacy figures were quick to jump to the group’s support. Chief executive of Amnesty International UK, Sacha Deshmukh, declared in a news release that, “The UK has an overly broad definition of terrorism and proscribing a direct-action protest group like Palestine Action risks an unlawful interference with the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.” Deshmukh argued that the banning of Palestine Action could infringe on the free speech of other activists who share concerns “about the plight of Palestinians in the context of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.” Cage International, a London-based advocacy organization, shared its solidarity with Palestine Action, arguing that “Terrorism and proscription laws are now brazenly enabling the continuation of a livestreamed genocide.”
Nevertheless, Palestine Action lost a bid to block the British government’s ban on July 2, marking membership in the organization as a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Justice Martin Chamberlain, the judge of the case, refused to give the organization interim relief from the ban, which was proposed by Cooper and approved by lawmakers earlier that week. Although he agreed that the order to label Palestine Action as a terrorist organization might shift the way the public understands the concept of terrorism, he explained that it was not “the court’s function to comment on the wisdom of the use of power in the case.”
The court’s decision was immediately met with outrage. For two weeks, protesters gathered to support Palestine Action. Groups gathered under the statues of Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi and post-apartheid South African president Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square, holding signs which read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” Other demonstrators lied on top of one another on the ground as officers took away signs and searched their bags. Since showing support for the group had been illegalized, more than 70 people have been arrested since July 12. Police warned that chanting, wearing clothing, or displaying articles such as flags, signs, or logos would be considered a form of support. Any protestors who were seen doing so were carried away into police vans parked around the square.
The UK’s decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization has ignited a nationwide debate over the limits of protest, freedom of expression, and the government’s role in international conflicts. While officials argue that the ban is necessary to protect national security and prevent vandalism, critics see it as an unfair overreach of government power and a crackdown on free speech.
Written by Claire Liu
