UK Moves to Outlaw Pro-Palestinian Activist Group

(MENAFN) The British government is preparing to formally designate the activist group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, a move prompted by an incident in which activists infiltrated an airbase and sprayed red paint into a military aircraft’s engine.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper informed Parliament on Monday of her intent to submit the proposal in the coming week. She condemned the “disgraceful attack” at RAF Brize Norton as “the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage” carried out by the group.

If lawmakers approve the designation, it would become a criminal offense in the UK to belong to Palestine Action or to publicly support it.

Established in 2020, Palestine Action aims to disrupt what it views as Britain’s military complicity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group has frequently targeted facilities linked to Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense manufacturer, as part of its campaign. Their aggressive protest methods have gained traction in recent months amid Israel’s continued military operations in Gaza.

Cooper argued that the group's activities are a threat to national security, asserting they interfere with arms deliveries not only to Israel but also to Ukraine, NATO allies, and other international partners. She added that their actions affect “innocent members of the public fleeing for safety and subjected to violence.”

In response, Kellys Solicitors, the law firm representing Palestine Action, denounced the proposed ban in a letter to the Home Office, calling it “wholly unprecedented.” The firm wrote that equating the group’s protests with terrorist activities such as those committed by Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State is “an unlawful, dangerous and ill-thought-out attack on freedom of expression and assembly.”

The legal team also pushed back against the government’s narrative, stating that Palestine Action’s protests do not target individuals and rarely lead to significant property damage.

“The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these warplanes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide,” the letter stated.

Media, in a critical editorial, argued that the proposed law risks setting a troubling precedent. “The threshold of terrorism will have been lowered from plotting to plant bombs or take hostages to daubing aircraft or chaining oneself to doors,” the paper warned.

Opposition to the measure has also come from within Parliament. Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn described the plan as “the desperate cries of a draconian government trying to shield itself from accountability” over its support for Israel. Independent MP Shockat Adam similarly criticized the initiative, calling it “as absurd as it is authoritarian.”

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