On Thursday, the British government upheld before the Supreme Court the decision to ban the “Palestine Action” group and classify it as a “terrorist” organization, considering that it is not a peaceful protest movement, during sessions to consider an appeal submitted by one of the group’s institutions. The ban, imposed since July 2025, has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, while a campaign supporting the group reported the arrest of about 4,200 people for showing their support for it.

Published on: 06/11/2026 - 00:11

On Thursday, the British government defended before the highest court in the country the decision to ban the “Palestine Action” group and classify it as a “terrorist” organization, stressing that it is not a peaceful protest movement, during sessions to consider a judicial appeal submitted by one of the group’s institutions against the ban.

Government lawyer James Eddy told the justices that Palestine Action is not a "peaceful protest group that operates transparently" and does not belong to a "long and honorable tradition of civil disobedience."

He explained that the group's members "plan their activities and carry them out secretly to avoid exposure," considering that causing serious damage to property could fall within "terrorist" acts, even in the absence of human casualties.

Eddy, who represents the British Home Office, stressed that no other measure could be considered as effective as the ban.

The government banned the group in July 2025, following a series of protests targeting a British military site and contracting companies in the defense sector, resulting in thousands of pounds of material damage.

The decision came weeks after activists from the group stormed a British Royal Air Force base in southern England and sprayed aircraft with paint.

Under the ban, Palestine Action was included on the list of organizations classified as “terrorist” in Britain, along with Al-Qaeda and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, and public expression of support for the group became a crime punishable by law.

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Human rights criticism of the ban

Hoda Amouri, one of the founders of Palestine Action, is appealing the ban before the Supreme Court, after a ruling that the Supreme Court had issued in her favor was overturned this year.

The classification of the group as a “terrorist” organization sparked criticism from human rights organizations, while the “Defend Our Justice” campaign, which organized protests against the decision, reported that about 4,200 people had been arrested since the ban was imposed for showing their support for the group, including a large number of elderly people.

Supporters of "Palestine Action" gathered in front of the court headquarters in London during the two days of the hearings, while an Agence France-Presse photographer saw police arresting at least one woman on Thursday.

Two British Jewish organizations submitted submissions to the court in support of the ban, arguing that the Jewish community was “particularly vulnerable to the risks of Palestine Action’s violent activities.”

On the other hand, Reda Hussein, Ammouri’s lawyer, rejected the accusations against the group of anti-Semitism, stressing that it “never targeted Jews or companies owned by Jews.”

Hussein considered that the ban deprived “at least hundreds of thousands of people” of exercising basic rights to political expression, association, and assembly, or imposed severe restrictions on them.

The British Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in the case at a later time.

France 24/AFP

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