The decision of the United Kingdom Government, last July, to classify the protest group 'Palestine Action' as a terrorist organization was illegal, as ruled this Friday, February 13, by the British High Court. The country's police arrested more than 2,000 peaceful protesters for holding signs declaring their support for the movement.
First modification: 02/13/2026 - 15:21 Last modification: 02/14/2026 - 01:04
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The High Court of the United Kingdom ruled this Friday, February 13, that the Government's decision to outlaw the protest group 'Palestine Action' as a terrorist organization was illegal. However, it temporarily upheld the ban, pending another hearing while the Administration prepares an appeal.
"The nature and scale of Palestine Action's activities" do not reach the "level, scale and persistence" that would justify its banning, judges Victoria Sharp, Jonathan Swift and Karen Steyn stressed.
“The decision to ban Palestine Action was disproportionate,” the judges noted.
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Huda Ammori, co-founder of the group, said the court's decision "constitutes a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms in the UK and for the Palestinian people's fight for freedom, overturning a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on freedom of expression in recent British history."
Supporters of Palestine Action and civil liberties groups say arrests over protests they call peaceful trample on freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate.
For her part, Yasmine Ahmed, director of Human Rights Watch in the United Kingdom, described this Friday's court ruling as "a boost for British democracy." And he claimed that the British government had used anti-terrorism legislation to suppress legitimate criticism of Israel.
What were London's reasons for declaring the group 'Palestine Action' terrorist?
When making its decision, the UK government argued that the group's escalating actions constituted "terrorism", citing a 2024 raid on a factory of Elbit Systems, Israel's largest defense company (ESLT.TA), in which, according to the Prosecutor's Office, activists caused around £1 million ($1.4 million) worth of damage and a police officer was hit with a sledgehammer.
The ban came after several activists stormed a Royal Air Force base last June to protest against British military support for the Israeli Army's attacks on Gaza, which left thousands of Palestinians dead.
Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said she was "disappointed by the court's decision and disagreed with the idea that banning this terrorist organization is disproportionate."
"The ban does not prevent peaceful protests in support of the Palestinian cause, another point on which the court agrees (...) I intend to challenge this ruling before the Court of Appeal," he declared.
With Reuters and AP
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