UK Supreme Court to Hear Appeal Challenging Palestine Action Terror Ban

Published on 4 November 2026 – 5:57 GMT+1

The British government will defend its decision to proscribe Palestine Action at the UK Supreme Court, after co-founder Huda Ammori lodged an appeal against the group’s designation as a terrorist organisation.

The two-day hearing, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, comes as the ban has failed to diminish support for the pro-Palestinian movement, resulting in mass arrests across the United Kingdom.

According to the campaign group Defend Our Juries, which has organised demonstrations in support of the movement, approximately 4,200 people have been arrested since the government outlawed Palestine Action in July last year.

In the latest protests, more than 300 supporters were arrested on Saturday by London police for displaying placards bearing the now-prohibited slogan: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

Those detained included a significant number of pensioners, among them a priest, a former financial adviser, a military veteran, and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Public expressions of support for Palestine Action have become a criminal offence under the UK’s Terrorism Act, punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The proscription places the group in the same legal category as Al-Qaeda and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The ban followed a series of vandalism incidents linked to the movement, including damage at a Royal Air Force base and actions targeting Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in August 2024.

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global support for Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.”

Ammori has been granted permission to challenge the ban at the UK’s highest court on a narrow procedural ground, arguing that the Home Office failed to adhere to its own criteria in reaching the decision.

Court documents indicate Ammori will argue that “only three of the 385 actions undertaken by PA over five years were assessed as meeting the definition of terrorism.”

In February, London’s High Court dealt a blow to the government, ruling that the decision to proscribe Palestine Action was “disproportionate.” The court found the ban had resulted in “substantial interference” with the rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

However, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June, concluding the ban was “not unlawful” and characterising Palestine Action as “a covert organisation operating with secret cells.”

If unsuccessful, Ammori has indicated she will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Source link