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The High Court has declared the Home Office’s move to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws unlawful. Despite this ruling, the prohibition remains in place temporarily to accommodate further legal discussions and to allow the government time to consider an appeal. This decision marks a significant setback for the government, as three senior judges acknowledged that although Palestine Action engages in criminal behavior to advance its objectives, its actions do not meet the stringent criteria required to classify it as a terrorist organization.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressed disappointment with the court’s judgment and confirmed that the government intends to challenge the ruling. While the group has successfully contested the ban, the court’s decision does not legalize support for Palestine Action—participation in or endorsement of the group’s activities continues to constitute a serious criminal offense. A pivotal consideration in the case involved whether the ban was infringing on the rights of others to protest matters related to Palestine.
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, called the ruling a “monumental victory for both our freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people.” She criticized the Home Office for what she described as “one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history.” In response, Mahmood defended the ban, stating it resulted from a thorough, evidence-based process that had been endorsed by Parliament. Ammori warned that pursuing an appeal would be “profoundly unjust” for the thousands arrested since the ban was imposed last July and described further arrests for defying the ban as a “draconian overreach.”
Following the court’s decision, the Metropolitan Police announced it would refrain from making arrests related to support for Palestine Action until the legal proceedings conclude, but emphasized that endorsing the group remains a criminal offense and that evidence collection would continue. Since the proscription was enacted, over 2,000 individuals have been arrested at demonstrations, with approximately 170 charged for allegedly showing support for the organization—charges that carry a potential sentence of up to six months in prison. Ammori highlighted that many arrests involved people peacefully holding signs expressing opposition to genocide alongside support for Palestine Action. The High Court acknowledged this but noted it gave little weight to the circumstances of those knowingly supporting the group and then arrested.
The court found that former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who enacted the ban last June, did not adequately consider the impact of her decision on the right to protest, nor did she fully adhere to the Home Office’s own policies governing when a group should be proscribed under the Terrorism Act. The challenge to the ban was initiated by Ammori and her legal team, who argued the proscription amounted to a “blatant abuse of power.” The Home Office had attempted to prevent the judicial review from proceeding, citing a parliamentary process for appeals against banning orders. However, the government’s effort to block the challenge failed in October, enabling the recent ruling.
Political responses to the ruling have been varied. Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman Max Wilkinson condemned the ban as a “grave misuse of terrorism laws” and warned that placing Palestine Action in the same classification as Islamic State risked diminishing public trust and civil liberties. The Green Party leader Zack Polanski welcomed the verdict and called for the charges against those accused of supporting Palestine Action to be dismissed. Meanwhile, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council expressed serious concern over the ruling and supported the home secretary’s decision to appeal
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