A UK High Court judge has granted pro-Palestinian Arab activist group Palestine Action the right to challenge the British government's decision to classify it as a terrorist organization, Jewish Chronicle reported on Wednesday.
The judge ruled that two of the group’s legal arguments were “reasonably arguable,” including claims that the Home Secretary failed to consult the group before the proscription and that the designation may infringe on rights to free expression and assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights. The judge rejected six other claims put forward by the group.
Palestine Action’s legal challenge was filed by co-founder Huda Ammori following the UK government’s formal designation of the group under the Terrorism Act earlier this month.
The UK officially banned Palestine Action on July 5, after an overwhelming vote in the House of Commons passed the measure 385 to 26. The House of Lords subsequently endorsed the decision, and a legal attempt to halt the ban was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
Conservative MP Jack Rankin condemned the court decision, posting, “Palestinian (sic) Action invaded RAF Brize Norton and damaged military aircraft - terrorism.”
Security Minister Dan Jarvis previously told Parliament the group had “orchestrated a nationwide campaign of attacks that have resulted in serious damage to property and crossed the threshold between direct criminal action and terrorism.”
The Home Office has not yet issued a comment on the ruling.
The government announced its intention to ban Palestine Action following an incident where activists from the group breached an air force base in southern England. During the incident, two aircraft were defaced with red paint, resulting in an estimated £7 million in damages.
The group also previously defaced a painting of Lord Balfour at Trinity College Cambridge, spraying the portrait with red paint and slashing it.
In another incident, Palestine Action members stole two busts of Israel’s first President, Chaim Weizmann, from a glass cabinet at Manchester University.