UK police arrest four over Palestine Action protest at military base

British police have arrested four people in connection with a protest by Palestine Action on 6 June, where military planes were sprayed with paint at an air base in England, authorities said on Friday.

A woman, 29, and two men aged 36 and 24, were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, while another woman, 41, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, the police statement said.

Two Palestine Action activists broke into the largest Royal Air Force base in Britain, damaging two planes with red paint and causing further damage with crowbars. The group say the planes leave daily for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for British military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East.

Following their actions, the UK government announced on Monday it would be using anti-terrorism laws to ban the group, making it a criminal offence to belong to the group, invite support or even donate, with a maximum punishment of 14 years in prison.

The pro-Palestine group plans to legally challenge the potential designation, having raised over £150,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to fund its legal battle. It aims to halt the proscription process and potentially fight to have Palestine Action de-proscribed.

Palestine Action has instructed veteran human rights solicitor Gareth Peirce, who has represented Guantanamo Bay detainees, the Birmingham six and the Guildford Four, to represent them in court, with support from Kelly's Solicitors, which specialises in political and protest-related work.

"We hope you will support us in fighting this draconian attack on our movement," Palestine Action said in its fundraiser.

The group claims pro-Israel lobby groups, the Israeli government and Elbit Systems, whom the group has frequently targeted, have been lobbying for the suppression of Palestine Action, with government sources telling the press of their intentions to ban the group.

Palestine Action also noted that pro-Israel groups such as We Believe in Israel and Campaign Against Antisemitism lobbied Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and asked for her to proscribe the group.

In a statement following the designation announcement, We Believe in Israel released a statement that they are "proud to report that—working in coordination with our partners, The Shield of David, the Forum for Foreign Relations, and Stop The Hate UK—our joint advocacy has brought us to the threshold of a significant national security decision: the likely proscription of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act".

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said, "the disgraceful attack", as she called the airbase protest, was "the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action".

Palestine Action condemned the decision, calling it "an unhinged reaction to an action spraying paint in protest at the UK Government arming Israel's slaughter of the Palestinian people".

Should the government be successful, Palestine Action will be banned by the end of the week.

The UK has currently designated 80 international groups as "terrorists" under the Terrorism Act 2000, including Palestinian group Hamas, the Russian Wagner Group, and Hizb ut Tahrir.

Only five groups have succeeded in being removed from the terror list over the past 25 years, Hamas are currently fighting to get themselves removed.