THE HIGH Court has ruled that the government’s decision to ban the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist organisation’ was unlawful.
In a statement after the ruling, Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori called the decision ‘a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people.’
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice, supporters gathered in the rain as news of the judgment spread, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.
Addressing the crowd, Ammori said the movement had continued to grow even while it was formally banned.
‘In the last seven months that Palestine Action has been proscribed, direct action has continued in this country,’ she said.
‘It has continued because it is effective. The people have shown this through multiple actions that have taken place all over the UK. You can jail a revolutionary, but you can never jail a revolution.’
She said the group existed because the government had failed in its democratic duty and ignored public opposition to the war in Gaza.
‘This movement will always exist until we end the flow of weapons and disrupt the business of war,’ she said.
‘The only way to end Palestine Action is to stop sending weapons to a genocidal regime.’
The High Court found that while Palestine Action had engaged in criminal acts, the government had acted unlawfully and disproportionately in proscribing the group under terrorism legislation.
The judges ruled that there were other legal means available to prosecute specific offences without imposing a blanket ban that interfered with rights to free expression and assembly.
Despite the ruling, the government said it would appeal.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she disagreed with the judgment and intended to challenge it in the Court of Appeal.
The court kept the ban in place pending further hearings, meaning it remains a criminal offence to support or belong to the group for now.
A hearing is scheduled for 20 February to determine whether the government can proceed with its appeal, though the wider legal process could take months or years.
According to the civil liberties group Defend Our Juries, 2,787 people were arrested on terrorism charges for taking part in silent vigils while holding signs reading, ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.’
Many of those arrested were elderly or disabled, and some now face the prospect of lengthy prison sentences if the prosecutions proceed.
Among those addressing the rally was filmmaker and activist Saeed Taji Farouky, who said: ‘There are thousands of people in this country who sat silently holding signs; they were arrested and charged with terrorism offences; this is a vindication for that. And most importantly, this is the vindication for the Palestinian people themselves who reached out to us and asked us to defend them. We did. The Palestinian people recognise that we are with them, and we are here to tell them today that they are not alone.’
Tim Crossland, founder of Defend Our Juries, said: ‘A divisional court of three senior judges has just ruled that the government’s ban on Palestine Action was unlawful on the basis that the home secretary failed to follow her own policy and violated the Human Rights Act. Those thousands and thousands of terrorists walking the streets are being magicked back into what they always were: peaceful protesters against genocide and corruption of democracy.’
The government first announced plans to ban Palestine Action last June, placing it in the same legal category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL.
Ammori said the proscription was driven not by security concerns but by the group’s campaign against Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, whose UK facilities had been repeatedly targeted by direct action. Banning Palestine Action was always about appeasing pro-Israel lobby groups and weapons manufacturers, and nothing to do with terrorism.’
Oliver Mulcahy, a Lancaster University student, told News Line: ‘I’m cheering because Palestine Action got de-proscribed. It’s such a big win for our rights, protesting rights and for the Palestinians and the future democracy.
‘Proscribing Palestine Action showed the government is scared of what people can do when they stand up for their freedom.’
Serena said: ‘I’m an outraged person who is fighting for Palestine. The government has criminalised thousands of people to be able to continue sending lethal drones to be used in a genocide.’
‘The court decision today is the first step in stopping this lethal trade, supported by the Labour government.
‘There should be a national strike by everybody, including the trade unions to get a government that represents the views of the people.’
Joleen, a software engineer said: ‘The government are fighting a losing battle. The unions should take action. We need a general strike to bring down this Labour government. We want a more left-wing government that stands for the workers.’