British court reviews ban on "Palestine Action"

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

A court in Britain is considering on Wednesday an appeal against the British government's decision to ban the pro-Palestinian movement Palestine Action and designate it as a terrorist organization. Lawyers for one of its founders are expected to argue that this constitutes a misuse of counter-terrorism laws, according to Reuters. The movement was banned last July, placing it in the same category as ISIS and al-Qaeda, and the measure makes membership a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The movement has increasingly targeted companies linked to Israel in Britain through "direct action," with its members blocking entrances to companies, smashing windows, or spraying red paint on them. The British Home Office moved to ban the movement after an escalating series of incidents that culminated in the storming of the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base in June, when members of the movement damaged two aircraft. Opponents of the ban say that protest actions involving property damage cannot rise to the level of terrorism and that the move would undermine the right to protest. The movement was founded in 2020 and gained notoriety for protests targeting Israeli defense companies and British companies linked to them. It escalated its actions during the Gaza war.