
Palestine Action court case: UK decision makes it an 'international outlier'
The group uses direct action to oppose Israel's policies in Palestine and especially companies involved in the Israeli arms trade. It was proscribed by UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier this month. Palestine Action has denied any links to terrorism and described the government's move as politically motivated.
It means it is now a criminal offence to be a member of Palestine Action, or to 'invite or recklessly express support for the group'. Those found guilty can face up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act of 2000. The designation puts Palestine Action on a par with al-Qaeda and Islamic State, among others. Ammori is seeking permission from the High Court for a judicial review of the government's decision.
Opening the one-day hearing, Ammori's barrister Raza Husein KC, said: 'The proscription... renders the UK an international outlier in comparison to its partners in Europe and other parts of the world.'
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, also representing Ammori, argued that the proscription of Palestine Action has had 'real-time' effects on the British public.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Using examples of arrests that have taken place since Palestine Action became a proscribed group, Ni Ghralaigh highlighted the case of Laura Murton, a woman who was threatened with a terrorism arrest in Canterbury by an armed officer for holding a sign that said 'Free Gaza".
Mr Justice Chamberlain, who was presiding over the hearing, responded to Ni Ghralaigh's example and said the police were misapplying the law when shutting down legal pro-Palestine protests using terrorism laws. 'This is obviously an officer who doesn't understand the law at all,' he said.
The court also heard that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre did not take into account the break-in at the RAF base at Brize Norton by members of Palestine Action - which ultimately led to the group being banned - when assessing whether to ban the organisation.
James Eadie KC, representing the UK government, argued against a judicial review, saying it was not the appropriate forum to review the proscription.
In written submissions, he said that Palestine Action and Ammori should rely on the Proscribed Organisation Appeal's Commission ( POAC) to oppose any proscription order, that parliament had 'made specific provision for challenging such decisions' and there was 'no good reason for going behind that process in the present case'.
A portion of the hearing was also closed to the public to allow for the government to present classified evidence to bolster its case.
Chamberlain said he would deliver a judgment next Wednesday, taking into account the secret evidence presented to him.
Earlier moves to overturn ban
Ammori's attempt to request a judicial review follows the High Court's rejection of calls to temporarily halt Cooper's ban on Palestine Action two weeks ago. Chamberlain, who presided over Monday's case, also heard the case on that occasion.
In that judgement, Chamberlain 'concluded that the harm which would ensue if interim relief is refused but the claim later succeeds is insufficient to outweigh the strong public interest in maintaining the order in force".
The Court of Appeal later upheld the court's decision, less than two hours before the order banning the group was due to take effect.
Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr, said: 'In conclusion, we have found no arguable error of law in the judgment nor have we found any arguable basis for a finding that his decision was not one that was open to him on the facts and the evidence. For these reasons we have concluded that there is no real prospect of a successful appeal and no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.'
More arrests at weekend
Over the weekend, police arrested more than 100 people at events related to Palestine Action, in the third week of protests since the group was banned. Demonstrations occurred in Bristol, Cornwall, Edinburgh, and London as part of a campaign organised by Defend Our Juries to protest the banning of Palestine Action.
In London, police arrested 55 demonstrators after protesters gathered next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi. During Saturday's national demonstration for Palestine in central London, the police also put up signs reminding protesters that showing support for Palestine Action could lead them to be prosecuted under the Terrorism Act.
The ban came after Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last month, using electric scooters and spraying two RAF planes with red paint. Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the act as 'disgraceful', while the Ministry of Defence claimed the activists caused £7m in damage.
Following the parliamentary vote, Palestine Action criticised the Home Secretary for 'bundling our domestic civil disobedience protest group in with two violent neo-Nazi militias'.
Ten Labour MPs, including Liverpool MP Richard Burgon, voted against the government. Burgon warned that the ban risked 'criminalising thousands of volunteers and supporters.
United Nations special rapporteurs also said they had contacted the British government to tell it that 'acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The National
16 minutes ago
- The National
Hamas 'keen' to continue ceasefire talks as US recalls negotiators from Qatar
Israel recalls negotiating team for consultations after Hamas response Israeli attacks kill 17 in Gaza, including three seeking aid People in Gaza are 'walking corpses', says UNRWA as starvation deaths reach 113 Gaza suffering is 'unbearable', says EU commissioner At least 59,587 Palestinians killed and 143,498 wounded since Gaza war began


The National
32 minutes ago
- The National
Israel's Knesset has become a forum for extremism
To gauge how noxious Israeli politics has become, one need only consider what the past month has been like for Ayman Odeh, the Arab leader of a coalition of leftist parties. The Knesset, Israel's legislature, moved to impeach Mr Odeh for a tweet earlier in the year in which he said he was 'happy for the release of [Israeli] hostages and [Palestinian] prisoners' – the inclusion of both groups in the same sentence apparently too much for his detractors. Parliamentarians voted overwhelmingly – 73 to 14 – for Mr Odeh's expulsion, but a boycott of the session by Ultra-Orthodox parties over an unrelated issue prevented the 90-vote threshold required from being met. Then, last weekend, Mr Odeh was attacked on his way to an anti-war protest in central Israel. His assailants cracked the windshield of his car while he was inside, and chanted 'Death to Arabs'. Police, Mr Odeh says, stood by and did nothing. The silence from his fellow parliamentarians has been deafening. Yet it is little surprise, considering the anti-Arab mood in the Knesset appears to be at a fever pitch. On Wednesday, the legislature voted in favour of a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank, a Palestinian territory whose long-standing occupation by Israeli security forces is illegal under international law. The West Bank is a critical part of historic Palestine and any future Palestinian the vote was overwhelming, with 71 for to 13 against. The Knesset resolution called on the government 'to apply Israeli sovereignty, law, judgement and administration' over large areas where illegal Jewish settlements are present, and noted the entire territory is 'an inseparable part of the land of Israel', to which Israel has a 'natural, historical and legal right'. The anti-Arab mood appears to be at a fever pitch Ten Arab and Islamic countries, along with the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, released a statement on Thursday roundly condemning the Knesset resolution. The statement, of which the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt were signatories, called the resolution 'a flagrant and unacceptable violation of international law', adding it will 'only fuel the growing tension in the region, exacerbated by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian catastrophe'. The resolution has been viewed by Israeli politicians as a largely symbolic measure, as it does not carry the force of law. But it is deeply problematic, both as an antagonistic barb against the dignity and rights of Palestinians and as a barometer of public sentiment. While it is true that the statements and votes of Members of the Knesset belie more nuanced public opinion, the picture is still disturbing. A poll conducted by The Jerusalem Post in February found that 35 per cent of Israelis favour a 'Jewish-only state, from the river to the sea'. This would, in effect, include the prospect of annexation of the West Bank and the end of hopes for a Palestinian state. The pro-annexation movement is about much more than territorial claims. It inherently denies Palestinians the right to exist as a national community – it is no coincidence the most prominent supporters of annexing the West Bank apply their logic to Gaza, too. The fact that it has become an ideological staple in the Knesset makes its success as eventual national policy much likelier, and that ought to alarm everyone in the region, as well as Israel's allies in the West. A generalised acceptance of lawlessness and oppression among most of a country's politicians can have concrete consequences. Even if the annexation resolution is symbolic, the violent assault against Mr Odeh was very real.

Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Another journalist killed in Israeli air strike in Gaza
Aljazeera Arabic's Gaza correspondent Anas al-Sharif revealed on Thursday that another journalist has been killed in an Israeli air strike on his family's tent in Gaza City. Adam Abu Harbeid was a cameraman for the broadcaster al-Quds al-Youm. Several members of Abu Harbeid's family were critically injured, Sharif said. "He accompanied me on much news coverage and was an example of politeness, humility, and respect," Sharif wrote on X, sharing a photograph of the two of them at work. "May God have mercy on you, our beloved Adam, and grant you Paradise," he added. A photograph shared by Aljazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif on X shows him at work alongside al-Quds al-Youm cameraman Adam Abu Harbeid, who was killed in an Israeli strike on 24 July 2025.