Renowned author Sally Rooney has made headlines after penning an opinion article vowing support for the now outlawed group Palestine Action, and saying she will use her royalties from the BBC to fund the group.
Rooney, author of Normal People, published her article in the Irish Times, where she wrote: "I would happily publish this statement in a UK newspaper – but that would now be illegal."
The article sheds light on how UK police earlier this month arrested more than 500 peaceful protesters in London for expressing support for Palestine Action.
Palestine Action, established in 2020, carried out direct action protests against arms and weapons manufacturers, particularly those who send the equipment to Israel to be used against Palestinian civilians.
The group often pours red paint on factories, vandalises equipment, occupies buildings, and breaks windows.
The UK government drew widespread criticism after proscribing it as a terrorist organisation on the same legal footing as armed militants like the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda.
Showing any kind of support for the group can carry sentences of up to 14 years behind bars.
"When our citizens are arrested under authoritarian regimes elsewhere, the State and its consular services tend to spring into action, or at least purport to, in order to defend the human rights of Irish passport holders. Now that the jurisdiction in question is located next door – and indeed closer still – our leaders seem curiously unwilling to act," Rooney writes.
She goes on to call the government in Dublin to take action regarding the UK funding and supporting Israel in its war on Gaza.
"Palestine Action, proscribed under the same law, is responsible for zero deaths and has never advocated the use of violence against any human being. Why then are its supporters arrested for wearing T-shirts, while murals celebrating loyalist death squads are left untouched?" she continues.
The novelist called on police to investigate stockists and stores that carry her books if they truly believe she is committing acts of terrorism by supporting Palestine Action.
"In recent years, the UK’s state broadcaster has also televised two fine adaptations of my novels, and therefore regularly pays me residual fees," she writes.
"I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can".
She sarcastically calls UK supermarkets and retailers such as WH Smith "shady organisations" for carrying her work.
Rooney has taken a firm stance against Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed over 61,800 Palestinians, wounded over 100,000 others and decimated the enclave.
The war, which has been determined by UN experts and rights groups to be a genocide, has also plunged the enclave into a deep humanitarian crisis as Israel continues to heavily restrict aid, causing over 200 people to die from starvation so far.
Rooney has accused Keir Starmer and his government of stripping its citizens of "basic rights and freedoms" to protect the UK's relationship with Israel, which she said has profound consequences.
She also said that the proscription of Palestine Action last month now means that many artists, creatives, and writers can no longer safely publicly speak in the UK.