The UK Home Office defends ban as necessary for national security, while lawyers warn of impact on civil liberties.
\nLawyers representing the co-founder of Palestine Action said the ban on the direct-action group had disproportionately impacted Palestinians in Britain campaigning against Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza.
\nSpeaking at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, Raza Husain KC, who is representing Huda Ammori, said the ban had created a \u201cculture of fear\u201d among British Palestinians and those advocating for Palestinian rights.
\n\u201cThe proscription of PA is impacting particularly severely on Palestinians in Britain, whose conduct and expression have been chilled and criminalised at precisely the moment when their communities in Palestine are being annihilated,\u201d Husain said in written statements.
\nThe lawyer quoted testimony given to the court by Dr Aimee Shalan, chair of the British Palestinian Committee, on the impact that proscription had on Palestinians in Britain.
\n\u201cShalan explained that members of the Palestinian community in Britain involved in campaigning and advocacy work routinely faced legal threats, including allegations of being terrorists or terrorist sympathisers. And that’s before proscription,” said Husain.
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\n\u201cThe concern here isn’t that those concerned members are in fact at risk of being prosecuted, but that the climate that proscription creates means that many, many people will have to self-censor to a greater degree than is actually required, that is, the chilling effect of course in action,” Husain added.
\nHusain also criticised the Home Office for not giving Palestine Action prior notice of its designation as a terrorist group, as required by Britain\u2019s Terrorism Act 2000, which mandates that a group be notified before being banned.
\nThe vast majority of Palestine Action’s protest activity was “low-level civil disobedience”, such as sit-ins and lock-ons, the lawyer said, while “a smaller cohort engaged in more serious damage to property”.
\nIn 2025, two activists broke into the Royal Air Force Brize Norton base in southern England and sprayed two planes with red paint.
\nBut criminal damage caused by activists at military facilities “has historically not been regarded as terroristic”, Husain said.
\n“Criminal, yes, terroristic no.”
\nAnother lawyer for the group, Owen Greenhall KC, argued “there were plenty of alternative measures that could be used”, including charges for criminal damage, trespassing and civil injunctions.
\n‘Contentious question’
\nIn response to Palestine Action\u2019s submissions, James Eadie KC, representing the Home Office, said that prior consultation of the ban was not required in this instance because Palestine Action was \u201ca disparate group\u201d and the court was entitled to consider \u201cthe practical difficulties of inviting prior consultation\u201d, including \u201cidentifying who should have been given prior notice\u201d.
\nEadie also argued that \u201cthe statutory context here involved national security and public safety and protector\u201d, and pointed to \u201cthe possibility of pre-emptive steps\u201d if notice were given to Palestine Action.
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\nThe case centres on a judgment handed down by the High Court in February 2026, which ruled in Ammori’s favour, finding that the government\u2019s move to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 was unlawful.
\nThe High Court ruled that the decision to proscribe Palestine Action breached the Home Office\u2019s own policy and disproportionately interfered with fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
\nAt the heart of the case is a contentious question: where should the line be drawn between militant protest and terrorism?
\nThe High Court previously rejected the portrayal of Palestine Action as a \u201cnon-violent\u201d organisation, citing evidence of criminal damage and confrontations during actions.
\nHowever, judges also concluded that banning the group would have a disproportionate impact on civil liberties, particularly the rights of individuals expressing support for Palestine.
\nEarlier this week, Eadie accused the courts of ignoring Britain\u2019s democratic structures by blocking its attempt to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.
\nThe Home Office argued that the initial judgment, which found the proscription unlawful, was legally flawed and undermined the government\u2019s ability to respond to \u201cescalating\u201d activity.
\n\u201cShe is democratically accountable – and as we know, that democratic stamp on her decision-making has included the affirmative resolution in the process,\u201d Eadie said, referring to then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper\u2019s decision and its approval by parliament.
\nEadie added that the \u201capproach of the divisional court has paid insufficient to that framework\u201d, criticising the judgment of not giving enough weight to the statutory and democratic structures underpinning proscription powers.
\nThe court will give a judgment in the coming weeks, with a closed session on Thursday during which government lawyers will present secret evidence to judges that will not be available for scrutiny by Palestine Action\u2019s legal team.
\nInstead, a special advocate hired by Palestine Action\u2019s legal team, who has security clearance to view classified information, will instead be present and argue for the direct-action group\u2019s case.
\nThe special advocate, however, will not be able to share the information discussed in these closed sessions with Palestine Action\u2019s legal team, despite working for them.
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#PalestineAction #UKPolitics #CivilLiberties #PalestinianRights #NationalSecurity #Gaza #TerrorismAct2000 #HomeOffice #CourtOfAppeal #FreedomOfExpression<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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