British Parliament Votes to Ban Palestine Action Despite Public Outcry
Terrorism Charges Cited by Cooper Are Misleading & Risk Setting a Dangerous Precedent
With a majority of 385 to 26, British parliamentarians voted on Wednesday to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation, moving one step closer to criminalizing public support for its campaigns. The move, announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper after activists threw red paint on two Royal Air Force (RAF) planes, has drawn widespread condemnation as an assault on free speech and dissent, and has already sparked protests.
“The British government deciding that Palestine Action should be proscribed as a terrorist organization is insanity, but not quite as insane at the continued support of Israel, an apartheid and genocidal state,” a Palestine Action activist told Peoples Dispatch. But the goal of this decision goes much further than a single group. “This is about silencing support of Palestine and silencing support of the resistance. Whilst mainstream media and everyone’s focus is on this, Israel is still murdering Palestinians daily.”
Ahead of the vote, a group of UN experts urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration to reconsider, warning that the terrorism charges cited by Cooper are misleading and risk setting a dangerous precedent. Rather than addressing genuine acts of terror, the experts argued, the move will impact individuals exercising their rights to free opinion, peaceful assembly, and political participation. “This would have a chilling effect on political protest and advocacy generally in relation to defending human rights in Palestine,” the experts wrote.
Attacks on the Palestine solidarity movement intensify
Solidarity with Palestine has come under intense repression across Europe, especially as public opposition to government complicity in the Gaza genocide continues to grow louder. Artists who have expressed support on stage, as well as campaigners, face legal action. In the UK alone, activists Chris Nineham of Stop the War Coalition and Ben Jamal from Palestine Solidarity Campaign are both scheduled to stand trial just days after a final decision on the proscription of Palestine Action is expected. Activists who took direct action against enterprises complicit in genocide, including weapon manufacturers like Rafael, remain imprisoned. At the same time, bands like Kneecap and Bob Vylan face frenzied mainstream media backlash for expressing support for Palestinian liberation at concerts.
“The attempt to proscribe Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist’ organization is yet another British colonial crime against the Palestinian people and a clear indication of British imperialism’s commitment to full complicity and participation in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and throughout occupied Palestine,” the prisoner solidarity network Samidoun said in a statement ahead of Wednesday’s vote.
As the government moves to ban Palestine Action, critics highlight its own continued and active role in enabling Israeli war crimes. British authorities have allowed Israeli aircraft, including some linked to bombing campaigns in Gaza, to use RAF bases, including the site activists targeted with paint. “As the government criminalizes those engaged in protesting a genocide, it continues to shamefully facilitate the real violence these protestors oppose,” independent MP Jeremy Corbyn told Drop Site.
Corbyn and other independent and former Labour MPs have proposed a formal inquiry into Britain’s complicity in the genocide, seeking to review all military, political, and economic cooperation with Israel since October 2023. However, few are holding their breath for a meaningful change in government policy, especially given ongoing industrial and tech ties, such as Elbit Systems’ operations in the UK and Palantir’s planned role in the National Health Service.
“In coming to this decision [proscribing Palestine Action], the government has decided that an Israeli arms manufacturer has more rights than a British citizen who cannot abide killing and maiming,” the Palestinian Youth Movement wrote. Similarly, MP Zarah Sultana stated that Palestine Action’s true crime was shutting down Elbit Systems sites that provide supplies to the Israeli military. “Its true offence is being audacious enough to expose the blood soaked ties between this government and the genocidal Israeli apartheid state and its war machine,” Sultana said.
Action against genocide as moral duty
If Palestine Action is officially listed as a terrorist organization, activists could face severe prison sentences simply for displaying the group’s merchandise or expressing support. Journalists could also be targeted, as staff at Novara Media have warned, highlighting the potential for raids on homes and the seizure of devices just for reporting factually on the matter.
The way the vote was orchestrated has also attracted serious criticism. Cooper bundled the proscription of Palestine Action with votes on far-right groups, including one called “Maniacs Murder Cult.” The move was widely understood as a tactic to block MPs from dissenting. In response, Palestine Action warned that MPs should be able to see through manipulations like these and oppose them. “All those who vote to take away everyone’s freedom of speech today must be held accountable,” the group wrote on Wednesday. “Putting us alongside the Maniacs Murder Cult is no excuse to vote for proscription.”
If the motion passes through parliamentary procedure this week as planned, the ban could come into effect as early as Saturday. Despite the risk, public support for the group remains intact. Protesters have continued to rally in its defense, insisting on the legitimacy of direct action in the face of genocide. “Supporting a genocide is terrorism, direct action to stop a genocide is the duty of humanity,” wrote the Campaign Against Arms Trade(CAAT).
 | A guest post by
|