The British government was given permission on Wednesday to appeal against a ruling that its ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was unlawful.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly taken "direct action" against Israel-linked defence companies in Britain, including Elbit Systems, often blocking entrances or spraying red paint.
Palestine Action was banned shortly after a June break-in at the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton air base, in which activists damaged two planes, an action described by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as "disgraceful".
The ban had put Palestine Action on a par with the Islamic State or al-Qaeda and made it a criminal offense to be a member, carrying a maximum 14-year prison sentence.
Lawyers representing Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, argued at a hearing last year that the move was an authoritarian restriction on the right to protest.
The court's initial ruling and reasoning
London's High Court ruled this month that the ban was unlawful, finding it a disproportionate interference with free speech rights.
The same court on Wednesday granted Britain's interior ministry permission to challenge its ruling, saying the ban would remain in place pending the appeal.
The Home Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ruling earlier this month threw into question the prosecution of hundreds of people charged with holding signs in support of the group, and prompted London's Metropolitan Police to say it would focus on gathering evidence rather than making arrests.