UK group Palestine Action could be declared 'terror' organisation after UK airbase action

UK direct action group Palestine Action is set to be branded as a terror organisation, after its activists broke into Brize Norton, the UK's largest air base in Oxford and damaged two planes.  

British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is planning to take steps in the coming weeks, and will submit a written ministerial statement before Parliament on Monday, the BBC reported on Friday. 

The statement would be enacted as new legislation which - if passed - would effectively make being a Palestine Action member illegal. 

The group claimed responsibility for damaging the warplanes - as part of its ongoing protests against the UK's support for Israel in its indiscriminate war on Gaza, which has continued for nearly two years.  

The activists were seen using repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the turbine engines and inflicted further damage with crowbars before evading security and escaping the base. 

Palestine Action said the airbase was targeted because it operates daily flights to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus- Britain’s largest airbase in the Middle East- which is used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East.  

The group stated that the red paint sprayed during the action symbolised the bloodshed in Gaza.  

Paint was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestinian flag was left at the scene. According to the group, the two activists involved were not apprehended by security. 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the act on Friday as "disgraceful"- with British defence security John Healey announcing an investigation into the incident and a review of wider security across British military bases. 

Healey emphasised in a statement issued via social media platform X that "the vandalism of RAF planes is totally unacceptable", with counter terror police additionally set to be involved in the probe. 

According to British media reports, one of the aircraft damaged in the incident was an Airbus Voyager, an air-to-air refuelling tanker. 

'Suppressing peaceful dissent'

Activists and right groups have denounced the British government’s potential move to proscribe Palestine Action. 

The group said in a follow-up statement on Saturday that it had "exposed Britain's direct involvement in the genocide, and how ordinary people can act to stop it."

They continued: "In response, the political establishment rush to call us 'terrorists', whilst they enact the worst crimes against humanity. No amount of smears or intimidation tactics will waver our solidarity with Palestine. We will break every link in the genocidal supply chain."

Amnesty UK said that the UK government could be attempting to suppress non-violent political dissent, highlighting that the action is "the latest in a succession of measures taken by the UK government to clamp down on protest in the UK."

In a post on X, they added: "Terrorism powers should never have been used to aggravate criminal charges against Palestine Action activists and they certainly shouldn't be used to ban them."

'Stretching the meaning of terrorism'

Ben Jamal, the head of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), told The New Arab that the UK’s latest reported move would be "another significant escalation" amid growing concerns over suppression of the right to protest.

"If they are proposing to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation, I would say that is stretching the meaning of terrorism beyond most people's understanding and beyond any sort of meaningful comprehension," he added.  

He said that the terrorism designation should only be "used for those committing violations of international law and domestic law that are violent and are directed at civilians in order to achieve a political purpose."

The PSC chief maintains that the British government has a "skewed set of priorities to continue arming a genocidal state" while targeting "those who are taking forms of non-violent direct action to try to disrupt the flow of weapons to the state."

Last September, the Labour government suspended around 30 of the 350 arms export licences to Israel, citing a "risk" that the weapons could be used in violations of international law.

However, the UK continues to supply components for F-35 fighter jets through a global manufacturing programme that Israel can still access. 

Since the onset of Israel’s military campaign on Gaza on 7 October 2023, Palestine Action has carried out a series of actions primarily targeting arms companies.  

Following its latest high-profile incident on Friday, the group has announced a number of additional protests targeting the Manchester office of UK technology firm CDW, which it accuses of supplying tech to Elbit Systems, an Israeli-linked arms manufacturer.