Palestine Action can still challenge terror ban after Home Office appeal quashed by court

The group was “proscribed” in July, meaning showing support or affiliation became illegal.

The court said the ban disproportionately interfered with the fundamental human rights of freedom of speech and assembly, adding the Government should have consulted with the group first.

The group was banned after a string of offences such as storming an RAF base in July.

Thousands of arrests have been carried out since and a single pro-Palestine demonstration in London last month yielded nearly 900.

The judicial review of the ban was scheduled for 25 November and today’s Court of Appeal rule means it can still go ahead.

PA lauded a “landmark victory” while co-founder Huda Ammori won permission to appeal on two further grounds.

She branded the ban “absurdly authoritarian” and “one of the most extreme attacks on civil liberties in recent British history”.

Ms Ammori also said 2,000 people had been arrested since the outlawing of PA, something she argues was a misuse of resources.

In summary, Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: “An application to deproscribe, with right of appeal to POAC (the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission) was not intended to be a means of challenging the initial decision.”

She added: “Judicial review would be a quicker means of challenging the order proscribing Palestine Action than applying to deproscribe.

“Judicial review would enable the High Court to give an authoritative judgment on whether or not it was lawful to proscribe Palestine Action.

“That judgment could then be relied on in criminal courts hearing charges against any person arrested in connection with their support of Palestine Action.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We note the decision made by the Court of Appeal, and will now carefully consider the implications of the ruling. “Palestine Action has conducted an escalating campaign.

"This has involved sustained criminal damage, including to Britain’s national security infrastructure, as well as intimidation, alleged violence and serious injuries. Palestine Action remain a proscribed group and those who support them will face the full force of the law.

“Everyone should remember: supporting Palestine and supporting a proscribed terrorist group are not the same thing.”

Its status as a proscribed group meant it was branded a terrorist organisation, making it illegal to become a member of Palestine Action or solicit support.

The multitude of arrests that have been carried out since has become a “big burden” on counterterrorism officers, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has admitted.

Palestine Action is responsible for other acts of vandalism like spray-painting the interior of Elbit Systems’ UK headquarters in London.

This occurred in July 2020 and the group’s formation came shortly afterwards.

The defence contractor is Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer and is often the target of Palestine Action demonstrations.

The company has multiple UK branches which operate across 16 sites across the country, with 680 employees.

In May 2021 four members of Palestine Action dressed in boiler suits climbed onto the roof of a Leicester drone factory owned by Elbit.

It followed a period of unrest in May of that year, in which 256 Palestinians and 17 Israelis were killed.