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Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The failure to crush other Left-wing extremists created Palestine Action
The Government is allegedly planning to proscribe Palestine Action, the direct action group, as a terrorist organisation – but is it only the tip of a far-Left iceberg? The group was set up in 2020 by Richard Barnard, a former Extinction Rebellion activist, and Huda Ammori, who worked for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Barnard is a classic crusty, with tattoos including an Irish Republican slogan and Buddhist chants. Ammori was born to Arab parents and grew up in Bolton. She has said her Palestinian great-grandfather was involved in the 1936 Arab Revolt there, and that he was killed by British soldiers. The alliance between these two individuals shows how the far-Left and causes in the Islamic world have combined. The group have primarily targeted Elbit, an Israeli defence firm with factories in Britain, in a five-year sabotage campaign which has involved ram-raiding gates and destroying machines with sledgehammers. In 2024 a police officer had to be taken to hospital after being hit with one of those hammers, in an attack on Elbit's HQ in Bristol, as commented on by Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley. The group has targeted any business with links to Elbit, including their lawyers and landlords, in an effort to drive them out of business. They've successfully caused several businesses to cut ties, and the model has been imitated by groups using their name in the USA, Italy, and Norway among others. In 2023 they published a manual on how to run an underground cell, which even included a recommendation that activists use Kelly's Solicitors in Brighton, who are well known for their focus on protest-related cases. The authorities have regularly failed to tackle the group, with activists regularly given desultory sentences. Shortly after the announcement that they were to be proscribed, Palestine Action posted a graphic on Twitter/X showing the logos of 35 groups who supported a protest against the proscription. It won't be a surprise to see groups like CAGE or Muslim Engagement and Development listed, but the graphic also includes seemingly unrelated groups such as No More Exclusions, who campaign against school exclusions, and Reclaim the Power, a direct action group who protest the use of fossil fuels. Nor is it only small groups. Campaigning organisations like Liberty and Amnesty International have also criticised the move, as well as lawyers from well-known chambers like Doughty Street, various Corbynista MPs, and even the Irish novelist Sally Rooney. The Prime Minister was himself a legal officer for Liberty in the 1980s and was a barrister at Doughty Street chambers for most of his legal career. Indeed, as some have pointed out, in 2003 Keir Starmer defended the Fairford Five, a group of anti-war protestors who broke into an RAF airbase to damage planes at the start of the Iraq War (working as a barrister, the PM was of course subject to the 'cab rank' rule). Palestine Action are just the latest in a long line of violent protest groups which have been nurtured and defended by institutions on the Left. The failure of the authorities to nip this in the bud has allowed the group to escalate to this dangerous level. Proscription might well end the threat of Palestine Action, but as the history of its founders shows, many of its activists will simply shift to new radical groups. Only taking a tougher line on all far-Left protest groups will prevent its place being taken by something similar.
Spectator
6 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
How dare Sally Rooney ‘admire' Palestine Action
I'm old enough to remember when it was neo-Nazis who smashed up Jewish-owned businesses. Now it's so-called progressives. Not long ago, a Jewish business in Stamford Hill in London had its windows smashed and its doors kicked in and red paint sprayed all over its walls. Only it wasn't Combat 18 or the oafish dregs of the National Front that carried out this mini-Kristallnacht – it was Palestine Action. Israelophobia is the safest, most celebrated political position in Britain Yes, the lobby group that is gushed over by Sally Rooney in today's Guardian, and which is cheered by every bourgeois leftist with an X account, wielded its hammers against a Jewish-owned company. It was on 28 May. In the dead of night, three masked men laid waste to the offices of a landlord business in Stamford Hill, a part of London famous for its lively community of Orthodox Jews. Palestine Action says it targeted the business not because it is Jewish but because it rents out premises to Elbit Systems UK, an Israeli arms manufacturer. But the business said this isn't true. Speaking anonymously – because he feared anti-Semitic blowback – a spokesman for the company insisted it had 'no connection with Elbit'. To my mind, it's immaterial whether or not the business has connections with Elbit – Palestine Action's attack on it was disgusting regardless. You don't need a PhD in the horrors of the 20th century to understand how distressing it is for Jews in particular to see their businesses smashed to smithereens. Those shards of glass on the streets of Stamford Hill will have triggered the most traumatic memories among the local population. 'For Jewish people', this kind of destruction is 'very, very scary', said the business's spokesman. Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood security group, said it was horrifying to once again see 'the criminal harassment of Jewish-owned properties'. Whatever Palestine Action's political intentions might have been, the objective impact of its criminal assault on a business owned by Jews was to terrorise a Jewish population. Jews whose families came to the UK precisely to escape those 'nights of broken glass' in Russia, Germany and other nations that turned on their Jewish populations found themselves surrounded by shattered glass in Stamford Hill in 2025. Unforgivably, even the business's mezuzah – the scroll box some Jewish families attach to their front doors to remind them of their faith – ended up stained with the blood-coloured paint that Palestine Action splashed around. It's worth reminding ourselves of this woke Kristallnacht today as pompous leftists gather in Trafalgar Square to defend Palestine Action. The government has announced that it plans to proscribe the group under anti-terrorism laws following its trespassing and vandalism at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last week. And the anti-Israel left is up in arms. Palestine Action are heroes, they say. Really? It's a shame that it is Palestine Action's incursion into Brize Norton – serious as that was – that has hogged the headlines. Because for me, its incursion into Stamford Hill was far more indicative of what a morally dubious movement this is. That horrendous attack confirmed that when the self-righteous of England's radical middle classes become feverishly obsessed with the 'evil' of the world's only Jewish state, then there's likely to be blowback for Jews here in the UK. All Palestine Action did was 'spray-paint a plane', says Sally Rooney in the Guardian. No it isn't. They also spray-painted a Jewish-owned business. They also got paint on a mezuzah. They also made Jews 'very, very scared' by smashing a shopfront in a Jewish suburb. Does she still 'admire Palestine Action wholeheartedly'? If so, then I humbly venture she is not on the right side of history in the way she seems to imagine. Independent MP Zarah Sultana has also offered her solidarity to Palestine Action. Their direct action is not a big deal, she suggests, because 'you can repair a plane, you can replace a broken window'. I sincerely hope Ms Sultana is not minimising the broken windows of Stamford Hill. I hope she is not downplaying the moral injury caused to Jews when they see the shattered glass their ancestors also saw. Perhaps she can clarify what she meant. This is important, Ms Sultana. Some are saying the clampdown on Palestine Action is an attempt to silence criticism of Israel. Get over yourselves. Hating Israel is the dinner-party prejudice du jour. It's the moral glue of the cultural establishment. You're no one in polite society unless you pull on a keffiyeh and defame the Jewish state as the most bloodthirsty state. Quit the faux-radicalism – Israelophobia is the safest, most celebrated political position in Britain right now. What worries me is its consequences. It seems unquestionable to me that when the influential single out the Jewish nation as the wickedest nation, the most twisted, genocidal 'entity' on earth, then ordinary Jews will get some heat. It's already happening. Should Palestine Action be branded a terror threat? I don't know. But I do know that, wittingly or otherwise, they terrorised the Jews of Stamford Hill last month.
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Palestine Action to be designated as terrorist group by UK government
Palestine Action is to be proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK after its members damaged two military planes at an air base on June 20. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement on Monday afternoon that she will lay an order before Parliament next week which, if passed, will make membership and support for Palestine Action illegal. Also on Monday, police clashed with protestors at a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in Trafalgar Square, central London. Palestine Action has staged a series of demonstrations in recent months, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint over its alleged links to Israeli defence company Elbit, and vandalising US President Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire. But it was a stunt against cargo planes at RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, southern England, which Palestine Action claimed were used in assisting Israel in its war in Gaza, that has led to its designation as a terrorist group. "The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action,' said Ms Cooper in a written statement to Parliament. "The UK's defence enterprise is vital to the nation's security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk." Video posted on X by the Palestine Action network appears to show activists on electric scooters racing across the tarmac towards cargo planes at Brize Norton. They can then be seen damaging the engine of a Voyager aircraft with repurposed fire extinguishers that sprayed red paint. They said they caused damage with crowbars. Paint was also sprayed on the runway. The activists claim to have escaped without detection. If Parliament approves the order, Palestine Action will joins the 81 organisations have been proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, including Islamist groups such as Hamas, A l Qaeda, far-right groups such as National Action, Russian private military company the Wagner Group and Hizb ut-Tahrir. But some within the governing Labour Party believe designating Palestine Action may be a step too far. They include former shadow attorney general Shami Chakrabarti, who has said the actions of Palestine Action at Brize Norton are 'not what most people would understand as terrorism'. "It is one thing to be a threat to property, to be a nuisance, to be prosecuted, and in some cases even imprisoned for those criminal offences, but it's another thing altogether to proscribe a whole group, and that means anybody fairly vaguely associated with it, to ban them (as) terrorists,' said Ms Chakrabarti , a former director of human rights organisation Liberty. "From what I can tell, this is a militant protest group that engages in direct action and that includes criminality, no question, but to elevate that to terrorism so anybody who attends a meeting, or who promotes the organisation, or is loosely affiliated with it, is branded a terrorist - that is a serious escalation I think." Former justice secretary Lord Charlie Falconer said vandalising aircraft at RAF Brize Norton would not solely provide legal justification for proscribing the group. 'I am not aware of what Palestine Action has done beyond the painting of things on the planes in Brize Norton, they may have done other things I didn't know,' he said. "But generally, that sort of demonstration wouldn't justify proscription so there must be something else that I don't know about."
The National
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
Labour MP calls for RAF break in group to be banned under terror law
Backbencher David Taylor, who previously unsuccessfully campaigned for Kneecap to be banned from Glastonbury, made the call after a break-in at RAF Brize Norton. Palestine Action members sprayed red paint into the engines of two Airbus Voyager on Thursday evening and said they used crowbars to further damage the planes. It is believed that one of the aircraft targeted is the UK's official VIP jet, used to ferry prime ministers and royals to official visits. Taylor insisted he supported the 'right to peaceful protest' but added: 'Palestine Action has long since crossed the line into criminality. Their latest alleged activity, breaking into RAF Brize Norton and damaging military aircraft, is not protest, it's sabotage. You cannot attack UK military assets. READ MORE: UK's 'Union flag plane damaged' in pro-Palestine RAF break-in 'This group have engaged in illegal activity: smashing into defence sites, vandalising property, and disrupting key infrastructure. These are not isolated incidents; they are part of a coordinated campaign of unlawful direct action.' Palestine Action have vandalised the premises of numerous businesses linked with the Israeli military. Last month, a case against activists for blocking access to Elbit's Instro Precision weapons factory in Kent was thrown out at Margate Magistrates Court. Elbit is a key target of the group because the firm is a key supplier of the Israeli military. Taylor (above) added: 'It is time for the government to take a firmer stance. I believe Palestine Action should now be considered for proscription under the Terrorism Act. We cannot allow groups who glorify and incite violence to operate unchecked under the guise of activism.' Groups proscribed under the Terrorism Act include Hamas and Hezbollah. Declaring support for a proscribed organisation is a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act. READ MORE: UK Government urged to publish legal advice on joining war on Iran Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh – known by the stage name Mo Chara – appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court earlier this week charged with an offence under the act after allegedly flying a Hezbollah flag at a concert. He was released on unconditional bail with his lawyers arguing that the alleged offence took place outside the six-month window required to fall under the court's jurisdiction. Palestine Action was approached for comment.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
France closes Israeli firms' Paris Air Show stalls, citing ban on "offensive weapons" displays amid Gaza war
Iran launches new deadly round of strikes against Israel as nuclear weapons tensions rise Le Bourget, France — Geopolitical tensions roiled the opening of the Paris Air Show on Monday as French authorities sealed off Israeli weapons industry booths amid the conflicts in Iran and Gaza, a move that Israel condemned as "outrageous." The decision added drama to the major aerospace industry event, which was already under the shadow of last week's deadly crash of Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Black walls were installed around the stands of five Israeli defense firms at the trade fair in Le Bourget, an airfield on the outskirts of Paris. The booths displayed "offensive weapons" that could be used in Gaza - in violation of agreements with Israeli authorities, a French government source told AFP. A black wall blocks off Israeli aerospace firms' stands, including that of Elbit Systems Ltd., at the Paris Air Show in Paris, in Le Bourget, France, June 16, 2025. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty The companies - Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael, Uvision, Elbit and Aeronautics - make drones and guided bombs and missiles. An Israeli exhibitor wrote a message in yellow chalk on one of the walls, saying the hidden defense systems "are protecting the state of Israel these days. The French government, in the name of discrimination is trying to hide them from you!" French official says Israeli "offensive weapons" barred amid war in Gaza French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou defended the decision during a Monday press conference at the air show. "The French government's position was very simple: no offensive weapons at the arms exposition," he said. "Defensive weapons were perfectly acceptable." Bayrou cited the ongoing conflict in Gaza as the rationale behind the ban. "Given France's diplomatic choices, in particular the concern, or in any case, very great worries about Gaza, we could not not show that there was a certain distance, which meant that we did not think it acceptable that offensive weapons were in a show like that," said Bayrou. "And as these offensive weapons were not withdrawn [by the Israeli companies], we have temporarily, I hope, closed the stands." At the last Paris Air Show in 2023, Israeli companies - including at least one that was subject to the closure of its stall on Monday - appear to have displayed offensive weapons, including laser-guided bombs and rockets and attack drones. Israel calls France's decision to close stalls "outrageous and unprecedented" Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was shocked by the "outrageous" closure of the pavilions and said the situation should be "immediately corrected." "Israeli companies have signed contracts with the organizers... it's like creating an Israeli ghetto," he said on French television channel LCI. The Israeli defense ministry said in a statement that the "outrageous and unprecedented decision reeks of policy-driven and commercial considerations." "The French are hiding behind supposedly political considerations to exclude Israeli offensive weapons from an international exhibition - weapons that compete with French industries," it said. "This is particularly striking given Israeli technologies' impressive and precise performance in Iran." Israel launched surprise strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites early on Friday, killing top commanders and scientists, prompting Tehran to hit back with a barrage of missiles. Arkansas' Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders was at the Paris show on Monday and, speaking with reporters, she called the French officials' decision "pretty absurd." Her father is Mike Huckabee, the current U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a staunch backer of the ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza. The presence of Israeli firms at Le Bourget, though smaller than in the past, was already a source of tension before the start of the Paris Air Show, because of the conflict in Gaza. A French court last week rejected a bid by NGOs to ban Israeli companies from Le Bourget over concerns about "international crimes." Local lawmakers from the Seine-Saint-Denis department hosting the event were absent during Bayrou's visit to the opening of the air show in protest over the Israeli presence. "Never has the world been so disrupted and destabilized," Bayrou said earlier at a roundtable event, urging nations to tackle challenges "together, not against each other." Boeing focuses on support, not sales at Paris Air show after Air India crash The row over Israel cast a shadow over a trade fair that is usually dominated by displays of the aerospace industry's latest flying wonders, and big orders for plane makers Airbus and Boeing. Airbus announced an order of 30 single-aisle A320neo jets and 10 A350F freighters by Saudi aircraft leasing firm AviLease. The European manufacturer also said Riyadh Air was buying 25 long-range, wide-body A350-1000 jets. Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg last week cancelled plans to attend the biennial event, to focus on the investigation of the Air India crash. "Our focus is on supporting our customers, rather than announcing orders at this air show," a Boeing spokeswoman told AFP on Monday. The London-bound Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, killing 241 passengers and crew and another 38 on the ground. One passenger survived.
