British court upholds ban on Palestine Action as terrorist group

A British appeals court ruled on Monday that the government’s 2024 ban on the pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action is lawful, overturning a lower-court finding that the designation breached free-speech rights. The Court of Appeal in London upheld the Home Office’s decision to classify the group as a terrorist organisation, concluding that its tactics—including sabotage and property damage—amounted to “violent illegality” rather than peaceful civil disobedience.

The three-judge panel rejected arguments that Palestine Action’s direct-action campaigns against arms companies supplying Israel constituted non-violent protest. “The court found that the group’s activities, including breaking into sites and causing significant disruption, cannot be characterised as mere civil disobedience,” said a summary of the ruling. The judges noted that the violence employed by Palestine Action “resembles terrorism” and falls outside the protections of free expression.

The decision comes two years after the UK government first listed Palestine Action as a terrorist group under the 2000 Terrorism Act, a move that sparked widespread protests and legal challenges. In 2024, a lower court had ruled that the ban violated free-speech guarantees, prompting the government to appeal. The Court of Appeal’s judgment now clears the way for the Home Office to maintain the proscription while Palestine Action prepares to take its case to the UK Supreme Court.

Human-rights organisations and civil-liberties groups swiftly condemned the ruling. Amnesty International UK described it as “a dangerous precedent that risks criminalising legitimate dissent.” A spokesperson told the BBC that the decision “sets a chilling precedent for protest movements across the UK.” Palestine Action itself vowed to continue fighting, with a spokesperson stating that the group would “pursue all legal avenues, including the European Court of Human Rights, to overturn this politically motivated ban.”

The ruling underscores the British government’s hardening stance on pro-Palestinian activism amid ongoing conflicts in Gaza and rising tensions over arms exports. Legal experts note that the case may influence future prosecutions of protest groups whose methods involve property damage, even when framed as civil disobedience. The Home Office has not yet indicated whether it will pursue criminal charges against current or former members of Palestine Action under the terrorism legislation.