UK Court says government illegally banned Pro-Palestinian group : NPR

Protesters demonstrate outside the Old Bailey court in London, where four Palestine Action activists are due to appear in court, charged with a break-in at RAF Brize Norton on June 20 in which planes were damaged with spray paint, Friday January 16, 2026.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

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Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

LONDON — Britain’s High Court ruled Friday that the government’s decision to ban protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was unlawful, but it kept the ban in place pending an appeal.

Justices Victoria Sharp, Jonathan Swift and Karen Steyn said the “nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities” did not reach “the level, scale and persistence” that would justify the ban.

The judges said they were “satisfied that the decision to ban Palestine Action was disproportionate”.

Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, said the decision “is a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom of the Palestinian people, overturning a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history.”

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was “disappointed by the court’s decision and disagreed with the view that the banning of this terrorist organization is disproportionate.”

“I intend to challenge this judgment before the Court of Appeal,” she said.

Last year, the British government declared the pro-Palestinian group a terrorist organization alongside al-Qaeda and Hamas, making joining or supporting Palestine Action a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Since then, more than 2,000 people have been arrested for holding signs saying “I support Palestinian action.”

Supporters of Palestine Action and civil liberties groups say arrests for peaceful protest trample on freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate.

The government banned Palestine Action after activists stormed a Royal Air Force base in June to protest British military support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Activists sprayed red paint on the engines of two air tankers and caused other damage with crowbars.

Palestine Action has carried out direct action protests at military and industrial sites in the UK since its inception in 2020, including breaking into facilities belonging to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems UK. Officials say the group’s actions have caused millions of pounds of damage that affects national security.

In their ruling, the judges said that although “a very small number of his actions constitute terrorist acts…regardless of the prohibition, the criminal law is available to prosecute those involved.”