UK court upholds ban on Palestine Action group, days after four activists jailed
Judge rules anti-Israel organization ‘is not, as it claims, a direct action civil disobedience protest group,’ but rather a ‘covert organization operating with secret cells’
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LONDON — London’s Appeals Court on Monday upheld a UK government ban on activist group Palestine Action that has seen thousands of people — from students to an 83-year-old retired vicar — arrested and carried away from protests by police.
The ban, which came into force on July 5, 2025, was imposed under the country’s Terrorism Act. It made membership of or support for the protest group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the terrorism legislation.
The proscription came after activists raided a facility belonging to the Israeli Elbit defense contractor, breaking a police officer’s spine with a sledgehammer and causing millions of pounds of property damage.
The banning of the group had been challenged by Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori, but the Appeals Court ruled “the proscription decision was not unlawful.”
Palestine Action “is not, as it claims, a direct action civil disobedience protest group like the suffragettes operating transparently in the open,” said judge Sue Carr, reading the decision.
“It is a covert organization operating with secret cells to avoid the detection and prosecution of those using violence to destroy the property of third parties.”
BREAKING: The government's decision to ban Palestine Action as a terror organisation was lawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
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The ban, which has led to some 3,000 arrests, puts the group on a government blacklist that also includes Hamas and Hezbollah.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper had defended the proscription, arguing supporters of the group were unaware of the “full nature” of the organization.
“It’s really important that no one is in any doubt that this is not a nonviolent organization,” she said last year.
Set up in 2020, Palestine Action’s stated goal on its website — blocked to UK internet users — is to end “global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
It gained visibility after the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel triggered a multi-front war in the Middle East, including a deadly campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Palestine Action has mainly targeted weapons factories in the UK, especially those belonging to Elbit.
Since the ban came into force, protesters have held a string of rallies holding up signs saying: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action,” resulting in many arrests.
Hundreds have been charged and are awaiting court hearings.
The group challenged the ban in the UK courts on the basis that it was “disproportionate” and had a “very significant” impact on human rights.
The High Court in London in February agreed and ruled in Palestine Action’s favor but the government then appealed.
Monday’s ruling at the Appeals court, however, reverses that judgment, finding in favor of the UK’s interior ministry.
The ruling came after a judge on Friday jailed four activists for raiding an Elbit site near Bristol in western England causing over a million pounds in damage.
Wearing red boilersuits, the four damaged computers, drones and other equipment, before clashing with security guards and police who tried to stop them in the August 2024 raid.
One of them hit a police officer twice on the back with a sledgehammer, leaving her with a fractured spine.
The group said their aim was to “dismantle drones and weaponry” they believed would be used to kill people, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
They were each jailed for between four years and eight months and seven years and eight months.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.