Police officers monitor protesters holding a banner during a rally in support of the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel group Palestine Action, at Trafalgar Square, in central London, on June 23, 2025. (Credit: Henry Nicholls/AFP.)
The High Court of Justice in London refused on Friday to suspend the ban on the Palestine Action group, which will be added to the list of organizations considered as terrorist in the United Kingdom starting Saturday.
The ban on Palestine Action, decided by the government following an act of vandalism at a Royal Air Force base in England, was approved on Thursday by a large majority in the British Parliament.
It is set to take effect at midnight, once signed by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper. The group's co-founder, Huda Ammori, had filed an urgent appeal to suspend this ban.
However, Judge Martin Chamberlain rejected it, emphasizing that the measure had been voted on by lawmakers and that "the Home Secretary considers it necessary in the interest of the public." A new hearing is scheduled for July 21, during which the court will consider the group's appeal to overturn this ban.
Starting Saturday, anyone belonging to or supporting the group will be subject to criminal prosecution and could face up to 14 years in prison, similar to organizations such as Hamas or al-Qaida. According to Raza Husain, the lawyer for Huda Ammori, this is the first time a "direct action civil disobedience group, which does not advocate violence, is targeted by a ban request on terrorist grounds." He condemned it as an "authoritarian abuse of power."
The lawyer for the Home Office, Ben Watson, argued that Palestine Action should contest its ban in another court, the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission. Tensions with the police broke out in the afternoon in front of the High Court. Thousands of people gathered at Trafalgar Square on the day of the ban announcement to support the group on June 23.
A few days earlier, activists from Palestine Action entered Brize Norton, the largest Royal Air Force base in the United Kingdom, where they splattered two military aircraft with red paint. Four people have been charged for this intrusion and remained in custody on Thursday pending a hearing scheduled for July 18.
The damage from this action was estimated at 7 million pounds (8 million euros) by the police. United Nations experts criticized London's decision this week, arguing that "mere property damage, without endangering human life, is not serious enough to be classified as terrorism."
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