In a significant judgement handed down on the morning of Friday 13 February, the High Court has ruled that the government’s ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.
The three judges, led by the president of the King’s bench division Dame Victoria Sharp, found that the decision to prohibit the pro-Palestinian activist group did not meet the legal threshold required under existing public order and counter-terrorism legislation.
In its ruling, the judges said that the government had failed to provide sufficient evidence that the group’s activities warranted proscription. Dame Victoria Sharp noted that the decision was “disproportionate”, with “a very small number of Palestine Action’s activities” amounting to “acts of terrorism within the definition of section 1 of the 2000 Act.”
Being a member of, or showing support for Palestine Action, a group known for its direct-action protests targeting companies linked to the Israeli arms industry, had become an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison from 5 July 2025.
Since then, protests in Manchester and across the country have resulted in protesters being charged, and over 2,500 arrests being made.
The government claimed that the group had met the criteria for terrorism, defined in the Terrorism Act 2000 as the use or threat of violence or damage to property designed to influence the government, an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public to advance a political, ideological, racial or religious cause.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said that she is “disappointed” by the High Court’s decision, and has confirmed that the government will appeal the result.
Co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, challenged the ban at a trial in the High Court in London, which concluded in December. Part of the trial had been held in secret as part of a closed material procedure. Ammori has called the High Court ruling a “monumental victory for both our fundamental freedoms in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people”.
However, the judges have ruled that the ban must remain in place until a further hearing later on in the month. For the time being, expressing support or being a part of Palestine Action remains a criminal offence.
