United Kingdom moves to ban Palestine Action after RAF Brize Norton break-in
*The government says the group’s support and membership will become a criminal offense after activists damaged two military planes and a court refused a temporary block.*
Britain moved closer to formally proscribing Palestine Action under anti-terrorism law after the activist group lost a court bid to block the ban. AP said the decision followed last month’s break-in at RAF Brize Norton, where activists vandalized two planes with red paint and crowbars in protest at Britain’s military support for Israel.
The legal ruling means the government’s plan will take effect at midnight, making membership of Palestine Action and support for its activities a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Justice Martin Chamberlain declined to grant interim relief, saying it was not the court’s role to judge the wisdom of using the power in this case. The group’s lawyers had argued the order was authoritarian and would be the first time in British history a direct-action civil disobedience group not advocating violence had been proscribed as terrorist.
The move began after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe the organization days after the base breach. Police said the damage to the two planes cost around 7 million pounds, and four people were charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK. That criminal case runs alongside the broader legal fight over whether the state can treat the group as a terrorist organization at all.
The ruling also underlines how politically charged the wider Gaza war has become in Britain. Palestine Action says its direct action targets military support for Israel, while the government says the group crossed a line from protest to serious criminal damage. AP noted that 81 organizations are already proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000, including Hamas and al-Qaida, which shows how unusual it is for a domestic activist network to be added to that list.
The ban now becomes a test case for the reach of anti-terror legislation. For supporters of the government, it is a response to vandalism against a military base. For critics, it raises the prospect that protest can be recast as terrorism even when no violence is used. The court declined to settle that debate on Friday, but the effect on the group is immediate and severe.
