Why UK Banned Palestine Action Group Under Anti-Terror Laws (image-X/Pal_action)
The pro-Palestine campaign group called Palestine Action was banned by the United Kingdom on June 23 under anti-terrorism laws. With this, the group is now classified in the same category as al-Qaeda and ISIL in the UK.
The government’s action makes it a criminal offence to be part of Palestine Action. However, this was not well-received by citizens, as many human rights organisations heavily criticised the move and even triggered protests. On Tuesday alone, 13 people were arrested and seven charged after protests clashed with Metropolitan Police officers.
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Reacting to the ban threat, the organisation stated on X, “The real crime here is not red paint being sprayed on these warplanes, but the war crimes that have been enabled with those planes because of the UK government’s complicity in Israel’s genocide.”
Palestine Action, launched in July 2020, describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”
The group says it could use “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in weapons manufacturing for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, French multinational Thales, and United States company Teledyne. Some of their actions in the past included breaking into Thales’ equipment factory in Glasgow, causing damage to weapons worth more than £1 million ($1.4 million). Similarly, in 2021, members of Palestine Action protested on the rooftop of Elbit Systems’ subsidiary, UAV Tactical Systems, in Leicester for six days until a number of them were arrested by the police.
The latest ban came following a protest in which activists broke into RAF Brize Norton, the largest station of the Royal Air Force in Oxfordshire, and sprayed two military planes with red paint. The video of the incident, marking their most high-profile move, showed activists spraying the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyager aircraft, used for air-to-air refuelling, and damaging them with crowbars.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the action and called it an act of vandalism. In its statement, Palestine Action accused Starmer of hypocrisy, claiming that back in 2003, he had supported protesters who broke into an RAF base to stop US bombers heading to Iraq.
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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that a draft proscription order against Palestine Action will be presented to the British Parliament on June 30. If it gets passed, the ban would become law, making it illegal to become a member of the group or to invite support for it.
Under the current terrorism act in Britain, penalties include up to 14 years in prison and a fine. The group, however, has decided to challenge the proposed order legally.
