Palestine Action: From proscription to defiance in the streets

On 7 July 2025, the UK government officially proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 – making membership, support, or even public expressions of solidarity a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Founded in 2020, the direct-action network built its reputation on non-violent but disruptive tactics aimed at ending British complicity in what it calls Israeli apartheid, focusing on companies like Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer with UK operations. Its activists occupied factories, scaled roofs, and sabotaged arms production lines – always targeting infrastructure, not people.

The government justified the ban by citing damage to military equipment and intrusions onto bases, calling it a threat to national security. Critics saw it differently.

The UN Human Rights Office called the decision a “disturbing” misuse of counter-terrorism law that stifles legitimate protest, while Amnesty International warned of a chilling effect on broader Palestinian solidarity. Human rights lawyers, Jewish activists, and public figures – including Naomi Klein and Angela Davis – have condemned the move as a dangerous precedent for criminalising dissent.

The proscription has sparked defiance, not silence. On 30 July, co-founder Richard Barnard won permission from the High Court to challenge the ban, with the judge noting its potential to suppress political speech. More than 200 people have already been arrested for allegedly showing support, from chanting the group’s name to carrying placards. Three were charged last week for displaying Palestine Action materials at a London rally.

Campaigners say the crackdown was fuelled by lobbying from defence contractors, pointing to revelations that a member of the House of Lords pushed for the ban at the request of a US arms firm. Meanwhile, Palestinian solidarity protests have swelled – tied to the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where over 1.25 million face famine.

9 August 2025: Protest on Two Fronts

Today, London hosts two converging demonstrations.

The National March for Palestine, led by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, is marching from Russell Square to Downing Street under the banner “Stop Starving Gaza – Stop Arming Israel.”

Alongside it, but independent of it, hundreds are staging an open act of civil disobedience against the Palestine Action ban. Groups like Defend Our Juries have called on supporters to hold placards reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” – a deliberate test of the law’s limits. Over 500 people have committed to hold up this sign today, in open defiance of the law.

The government and police are desperately putting charges together in the hopes it will intimidate people. It will not work.

It is not illegal to campaign for the lifting of a ban on a proscribed group, according to the Terrorism Act 2000.

visit: https://t.co/vqXWFPPScY pic.twitter.com/3vc8CGzGTd

— Defend our Juries (@DefendourJuries) August 7, 2025

Police have warned of mass arrests, and Downing Street has urged people to stay away. Amnesty UK has called on the Met not to detain peaceful protesters, warning of serious human rights violations. High-profile supporters – including Bianca Jagger, former diplomat Craig Murray, and 90-year-old Jewish activist Larry Sanders – are marching, while Greenpeace activists have rebranded bus stops with the slogan “Protesting genocide is not terrorism.”

The Palestine Action ban is the first time a UK-based pro-Palestinian group has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK government. For supporters, it’s not only an attack on one network, but an attempt to criminalise a whole movement. Today’s protests are about more than one organisation – they are a challenge to the state’s redefinition of protest itself.

If you are among those planning to take part in Defend the Juries protest today, be sure to acquaint yourself with your legal rights at defendourjuries.net.

As this anniversary of the group’s founding approaches under a cloud of legal repression, the message from the streets is clear: solidarity with Palestine will not be legislated away.

Thousands in Parliament Sq, with many hundreds of protestors holding signs which say “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”

This may be the biggest single act of civil disobedience in London for decades. pic.twitter.com/A8kLyiMnXC

— Huda Ammori (@HudaAmmori) August 9, 2025