REFILE-UPDATE 4-UK terrorism ban on Palestine Action group unlawful, court rules after appeal

Britain's ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was ruled unlawful by London's High Court on Friday, though the ban will temporarily remain in place and the government said it ‌would appeal against the decision. Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly taken "direct action" against Israel-linked defence companies in Britain, often blocking entrances or spraying red paint.

Britain argued the group's escalating actions amounted to terrorism. They included a 2024 raid on Israel's largest defence firm Elbit Systems, in which prosecutors said activists caused ‌around 1 million pounds of damage and a police officer was hit with a sledgehammer, and culminated in a June break-in at the Royal ‌Air Force's Brize Norton air base. Lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, argued at a hearing last year that the move was an authoritarian restriction on the right to protest.

Giving a summary of the court's ruling, Judge Victoria Sharp said that "Palestine Action is a group that promotes its political cause through criminality and the encouragement of criminality". But ⁠the High ​Court ruled the ban was a ⁠disproportionate interference with the right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

The ban will remain in place pending any appeal, meaning expressing support is still a criminal offence and being ⁠a member carries a maximum 14-year prison sentence. Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said in a statement: "I intend to fight this judgment in the Court of Appeal."

GOVERNMENT DEFEAT FOLLOWS NOT ​GUILTY VERDICTS The ban put Palestine Action on a par with Islamic State or al Qaeda and more than 2,000 people have ⁠since been arrested for holding signs in support of the group – though Friday's ruling could lead to any criminal charges being dropped.

Civil liberties groups including Amnesty International had called for the ban ⁠to ​be lifted and Irish novelist Sally Rooney said it could even lead to her books being withdrawn from sale due to her public support for Palestine Action. The British government argued proscription only prevented support for Palestine Action and had not prevented people from protesting in favour of the ⁠Palestinian cause.

The High Court, however, said it could cause pro-Palestinian protesters to "exercise self-restraint in terms of what they say and what they do". The judgment was ⁠announced two weeks after six people charged ⁠over the 2024 raid on Elbit were all acquitted of aggravated burglary.

Prosecutors have said they will seek a retrial on those counts on which the jury could not reach a verdict, including a charge of causing grievous ‌bodily harm against one ‌activist accused of hitting a police officer with a sledgehammer.