The British government moved on Tuesday to defend and reinstate its ban on the anti-Israel activist group Palestine Action, which was designated a terrorist organization under UK law last year, Reuters reported.
Palestine Action has focused much of its activity on targeting defense companies in Britain linked to Israel, with particular emphasis on Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense contractor.
Palestine Action was proscribed in July after what authorities described as an escalation in “direct action" targeting Israel-linked defense companies in Britain.
The ban followed a June break-in at the Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton, during which activists damaged two aircraft. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the incident as “disgraceful".
In February, London’s High Court determined that the proscription of the group was unlawful on the grounds that it improperly interfered with freedom of expression. However, the ban remains in effect while the government’s appeal is underway. The appeal hearing opened on Tuesday at the Court of Appeal.
Lawyers representing Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood argued before the court that the High Court’s conclusion regarding the ban’s significant impact on freedom of expression “was overstated and wrong."
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action in 2020 and the individual who successfully challenged the ban in the lower court, maintains that the proscription has placed “severe restrictions on the fundamental free speech and assembly rights of vast numbers of people."
Since the ban took effect, more than 2,700 individuals have been arrested for displaying signs in support of Palestine Action. Should the High Court’s ruling be upheld, many of these charges could potentially be dropped.
Palestine Action describes itself as a “direct action" network opposing what it calls British “complicity" with Israel, particularly in relation to arms sales.
The group 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.