ByREUTERS

The British government's ban on pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization is unlawful, London's High Court ruled on Friday after a legal challenge by the group's co-founder.

Palestine Action was proscribed in July, having increasingly targeted Israel-linked defense companies – particularly Elbit Systems – in Britain with "direct action," often blocking entrances, or spraying red paint.

The ban had put Palestine Action on a par with ISIS or al Qaeda and made it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

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.

A PALESTINIAN FLAG is attached to a traffic light as a rally takes place to challenge the UK government’s banning of Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, last month. Europe finds itself entangled with radical Islam, says the writer.
A PALESTINIAN FLAG is attached to a traffic light as a rally takes place to challenge the UK government’s banning of Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, last month. Europe finds itself entangled with radical Islam, says the writer. (credit: CARLOS JASSO/REUTERS)

UK court rules that government ban on Palestine Action unlawful

The High Court upheld two grounds of challenge, including that the ban constituted disproportionate interference with the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

Judge Victoria Sharp said, however, that the ban would remain in place to give the Ammori and the Home Office's lawyers time to address the court on whether the ban should be lifted pending any appeal.