A ruling by Britain’s High Court last week overturning the designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization appears set to be more than a passing legal decision. It has become a turning point in a heated British debate over the limits of political protest, how “terrorism” is defined, and the space for solidarity with the Palestinian cause in Europe, even as the ban remains in effect pending another hearing.
The ban made membership, or even expressing support for the group, a crime punishable by years in prison, placing Palestine Action in the same category as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hamas.
Palestine Action, founded in 2020 as a campaign targeting companies linked to Israel’s military industries, especially the UK sites of Elbit Systems, found itself last year listed among proscribed organizations under the Terrorism Act 2000, leading to the arrests of members and supporters.
In a ruling issued last Friday, Britain’s High Court found the proscription did not meet the legal criteria for terrorism and sparked concerns about potential limits on freedom of expression and assembly. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood voiced disappointment, saying she intends to fight the judgment in the Court of Appeal.”
A member of the group, speaking to Al Manassa on condition of anonymity, called the ruling a victory. “It’s amazing news for the movement, for our political prisoners, but most importantly for Palestine. Palestine Action is the ultimate expression of resistance to Zionism in the Western world, and this win is a testament to the just and worthy cause we are fighting for,” he said.
He linked the court ruling to the fate of colleagues in what is known in media as the Filton 24 case, who were charged after storming a Royal Air Force base and damaging aircraft as part of a series of protests.
“With no convictions for the first six of the Filton 24 to go on trial just two weeks ago, and now the High Court overturning the proscription of Palestine Action, we are overjoyed, but not complacent,” he said.
He said the organization does not see the decision as the end of the battle, but as one stop in a longer journey. “Yes, now we celebrate, but there is plenty of work to do. First of all we must show the Crown Prosecution Service that a retrial of the Filton 6 is not in the public interest,” he said.
But the Crown Prosecution Service has announced the six activists will face a retrial on charges of criminal damage and violence, having been acquited of aggravated burglary.
He said the organization’s strategic priority is to shut down Elbit Systems in the United Kingdom.
Since the group was banned last year, Britain has seen waves of arrests of people taking part in solidarity protests, and police have imposed tighter restrictions on demonstrations, especially outside government institutions and industrial sites.
Some detainees went on prolonged hunger strikes in prisons between November and January, in what was described as the longest of its kind inside British prisons since the 1980s.
The member described that as an “escalating crackdown” on civil liberties. “The authorities have been cracking down immensely in light of proscription and the recent hunger strike by some of the Filton 24,” resulting in “brutal police crackdowns, mass arrests, and the imposition of repressive protest conditions,” he said.
He added: “The proscription is proof that this behavior in the government is actually illegal, and our legal system will hopefully continue to be a check on the increasing overreach of government to limit freedom of speech and protest rights, however we must stay alert and keep the pressure up as this is the only way in which we protect these rights.”
Asked about recurring media accusations about the group’s funding sources or outside links, the member flatly denied them. “The media continues to spin lies about connections and funding of Palestine Action with foreign groups. It is important to stress that Palestine Action has and continues to be a grassroots and localized direct action campaign group that seeks to shut down Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer in the UK and fight for the unequivocal and total liberation of Palestine,” he said.
The pro-Palestine group accuses the British government of complicity in war crimes carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
After the decision to ban Palestine Action, digital-rights organizations, journalists and academics from the UK, Europe and the United States expressed deep concern about the move’s fallout, warning it could hit freedom of expression and lawful digital activism in the country.
