T-shirts, placards, and peaceful demonstrations could now land ordinary Britons behind bars, as rights groups say the UK government’s decision to proscribe a prominent pro-Palestine activist group under terrorism laws sets a dangerous precedent over the legal and ethical boundaries of protest rights.
On 5 July, UK police arrested 29 protesters on suspicion of terrorism-related offences - the first wave of arrests since the government’s ban on the direct action group Palestine Action came into force at midnight.
A last-minute legal challenge by Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori at the Court of Appeal had failed to block UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision.
The first post-ban protest saw demonstrators gather around the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela in London’s Parliament Square, holding signs in solidarity with Palestine Action.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson confirmed to The New Arab that all 29 protesters arrested under Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000 were "bailed pending further enquiries" and declined to comment on the legal threshold, citing ongoing investigations.
Since the ban, over 70 people have been arrested at protests nationwide.
Palestine Action, founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard, has engaged in activities targeting Israeli-linked arms companies accused of fuelling war crimes in Gaza.
The group describes itself as "committed to ending global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime".
The proscription has drawn criticism from rights groups and UN experts, who say the UK is redefining activism as extremism, especially when it challenges foreign policy interests.
Why was Palestine Action banned?
On 20 June, Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. A video shared by the group showed an individual riding a scooter and spraying red paint on a military aircraft.
The group said the action was in protest of Britain’s ongoing military cooperation with Israel.
"Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US and Israeli fighter jets," the group said.
Authorities said the break-in caused £7 million in damage to two Voyager aircraft. Four people were remanded and charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and entering a prohibited place with intent to harm UK interests or security.
In Parliament, the Home Secretary announced the decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, citing a "long history of unacceptable criminal damage".
An initial legal challenge to the ban failed. A Home Office spokesperson told The New Arab it "welcome[d] the Court’s decision" and that "the Government will always take the strongest possible action to protect our national security".
A further appeal is expected at the High Court later this month.
'Suppressing political activism'
Palestine Action is the first direct action protest group to be designated as a terrorist organisation under UK law, placing it alongside groups like the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda. Supporters now face up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups warn this may reshape the Palestine solidarity movement across Britain.
Andrew Feinstein, a former South African MP and arms trade expert, said Palestine Action's protests spotlighted the UK’s arms exports and Israel’s military operations in Gaza. While the UK suspended some arms exports to Israel last year, exceptions remain - including components for F-35 jets.
"I have for a number of years now been saying that direct action is one of the most effective courses of action against a deeply corrupt, totally out of control, British arms trade," Feinstein told The New Arab.
"If [the UK government] want to use this proscription to try and stop people investigating, writing about, [or] talking about the global trade in weapons, what I can say is that those of us who do this work are certainly not going to back down."
He added: "All it will mean is that there will be even less transparency, even less accountability over the British arms trade at a time when we are massively increasing defence spending at the expense of spending on welfare, benefits, the NHS."
Anas Mustapha, Head of Public Advocacy at CAGE International, warned that the ban "suppresses legitimate political activism and expression" and sets a precedent where dissent against powerful interests is labelled terrorism.
A spokesperson for the protest rights group Netpol echoed those concerns. "Our worry is that this encourages ideas about banning even more groups... we are back to the period of the 'war on terror'... Muslims are treated as ‘suspect’ communities... new police powers and new criminal offences are introduced."
Just Stop Oil (JSO), a high-profile UK climate activist group which has been targeted over its direct action tactics, denounced the decision as a "highly authoritarian move by the UK Government".
The organisation has seen its own protests increasingly targeted by heavy policing and frequent arrests, ultimately forcing it to end its campaign of civil disobedience earlier this year.
"Were we still taking action, we have no doubt that the current government would also have applied this legislation to Just Stop Oil," JSO spokesperson Mel Carrington told TNA.
CAGE International agreed that the effects of such proscription legislation "extend far beyond" Palestine Action.
"It sends a signal that engaging in or even supporting non-violent direct action could lead to terrorism charges," Mustapha said. "The wider impact is the establishment of a climate of fear, silencing of communities and stifling debate on issues like arms exports, foreign policy, and genocide."
These concerns have only intensified among critics as police have begun arresting demonstrators calling for the ban to be overturned.
In London, 42 have been detained; in Manchester, 16; in Cardiff, 13; and in Leeds, one.
Campaign group Defend Our Juries, which organised rallies, told The New Arab that the arrests "signal a slide towards a totalitarian state".
A spokesperson said: "If the proscription of Palestine Action is allowed to stand... next in line will be the unions and those campaigning for climate and racial justice."
The group will continue protests on 19 July, following rallies across the UK and a separate action in Derry.
"Are these people holding up signs, serious criminals committing terror crimes, who should be locked up for 14 years? Or are they ordinary, decent people, exercising their democratic rights and taking a stand against corruption, injustice and genocide?"
International law and the UK's obligations
Before the ban, UN experts urged the UK not to proceed, warning against the "unjustified labelling" of political protest as terrorism.
They argued that property damage without intent to harm should not be classed as terrorism under international law.
"The proscription... severely undermines the right to protest, a cornerstone of democratic society," CAGE International's Mustapha said.
The organisation further claims that the decision fails to align with the UK's obligations under international law, especially the Genocide Convention.
"Palestine Action had targeted companies involved in supplying weapons used in Gaza- actions that could be seen as fulfilling the duty to prevent genocide," Mustapha added. "Proscribing it was an act of legal aggression."
British barrister Nour Haidar, writing for the UK Constitutional Law Association, argued that proscribing the group "blurs the line between violence against individuals and damage to property," calling it "a chilling example of executive power".
Haidar noted that using section 1(2)(b) of the 2000 Act, which includes "serious damage to property", lowers the threshold for banning protest.
Fears over 'chilling' precedent
Growing public scrutiny of the UK’s arms trade with Israel continues, with a June Opinium poll for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) showing 57% of the British public support a full arms embargo.
Those who spoke to The New Arab expressed concerns over what they perceived to be the chilling impact of criminalising non-violent civil disobedience.
"To proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group lowers the threshold... If you are a terrorist for spraying red paint and vandalising property, then there are many delinquent teenagers across the country in for a rude awakening," a UK-based drag artist, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
Birmingham-based Opal, 27, meanwhile, told TNA: "I’ve worked most of my adult life here... only to now realise how much our government is helping to fund a genocide that I want no part in".
A London primary school teacher, who also asked to remain anonymous, said students have begun challenging neutrality around Palestine. "This silence leaves me with deep discomfort. Are we truly upholding [British] values if we only apply them selectively?" they said.
On the day the ban came into effect, protest rights group Netpol reported that Lancashire police allegedly told two women protesting at BAE Samlesbury to remove their ‘Free Palestine’ t-shirts, claiming it could breach the proscription order.
A spokesperson for Netpol told TNA: "We do not know if the police intend to vigorously pursue any trace of sympathy for Palestine Action... Netpol is working hard to make sure the movements we work with understand the dangers we face and to prepare for the worst."
Assiah Hamed is a staff writer at The New Arab