The British government intends to ban the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terror legislation, following an event in which activists entered a Royal Air Force base and sprayed two jets with red paint. The news was announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier this week. Her statement has triggered protests and condemnation from numerous human rights organizations. A crowdfunding campaign in support of Palestine Action raised approximately £100,000 (USD 136,500) in just 24 hours.
“The attempt to ban a political protest group, and effectively brand them a ‘terrorist’ organization is unprecedented,” Palestine Action stated. If implemented, the ban would place the group alongside far-right groups like National Action, known for promoting racial hatred and violence.
But Palestine Action insists its members are “teachers, nurses, students and parents who take part in actions disrupting the private companies who are arming Israel’s genocide, by spray painting or entering their factory premises” – a far cry from inciting violence or engaging in terrorism.
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Statements from organizations, including Campaign Against the Arms Trade, CODEPINK, Sisters Uncut, and Amnesty International have condemned the Labour government for misusing counterterrorism laws to suppress civil liberties. The Home Secretary’s plan, wrote the Independent Alliance of the British Parliament, “represents a draconian assault on the democratic right to protest – and is a disgraceful attempt to hide the real meaning of violence: the mass murder of Palestinians.”
Legal and advocacy groups campaigning for justice for Palestine argue the ban would set a dangerous precedent. “Since October 2023, the UK government has escalated its use of draconian counterterrorism laws to criminalize Palestine solidarity activism,” stated the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), in a joint letter with the Palestinian Youth Movement and others. “Placing a higher value on minor damage to war planes rather than on the lives of Palestinians reflects the century-long legacy of colonial violence at the heart of the UK Government’s stance towards Palestine today.”
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Over the past five years, Palestine Action has carried out numerous actions targeting companies like Elbit Systems, a major supplier to Israeli armed forces. Many of its members have been arrested – some kept in jail for months, awaiting trial – but the group’s visibility and public support have only continued to grow amid rising public anger over British complicity in Israeli war crimes.
Under the current Labour government, British aircraft have taken part in intelligence operations benefiting Israeli forces. The UK has also continued exporting military equipment, including parts for F-35 jets, used in attacks on starving people in Gaza. “The UK government is complicit in genocide, and we see this latest move for what it is: an act of desperation from a government trying to shield itself from accountability,” independent MP Jeremy Corbyn wrote on social media.
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In parallel, public figures who support Palestine – such as the Irish band Kneecap – have faced attacks and censorship, while London police have cracked down on recent protests backing Palestine Action. More than a dozen demonstrators were arrested in the first half of this week, with journalists documenting incidents of police violence. “Providing military and arms support for a state committing genocide, while detaining and outlawing the activists opposing their complicity: this is naked authoritarianism,” said a Palestine Action spokesperson.
Despite increasing repression, Palestine Action vowed to continue its campaign for justice and an end to the genocide. “Palestine Action is every person who opposes genocide and the Israeli war machine,” the group wrote. “We represent every person who believes that Palestinian lives are worth more than the tools used to kill them. The terrorists are those facilitating the daily massacres of Palestinians – not those taking action to stop them.”
