The UK High Court ruled that the protest group Palestine Action was designated as an illegal terrorist organization

London – Britain’s High Court ruled on Friday that the government’s decision last year to ban the protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization was illegal, but upheld the decision pending an appeal.

Judges Victoria Sharp, Jonathan Swift and Karen Steyn said “the nature and extent of Palestine Action’s activities” did not meet the “level, scale and persistence” that would justify a ban.

The judges said they were “satisfied that the decision to withdraw Palestine Action was unfounded.”

Palestine Action is enjoying “victory,” the government pledges

Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori called the decision “a huge victory for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and for the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, overturning a decision that will always be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on freedom of speech in recent British history.”

Home Affairs Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “she is disappointed with the court’s decision and (I do not agree) with the view that closing this terrorist organization is against the law.

“I intend to fight this decision in the Court of Appeal,” he said.

Last year, the UK government declared the pro-Palestinian group a terrorist organization along with al-Qaeda and Hamas, making membership or support of Palestine Action punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Since then, more than 2,000 people they have been arrested by holding signs that say, “I support Palestine Action.”

Supporters of Palestine Action and freedom fighters say that arrests for peaceful protests are too bad for freedom of speech and the right to protest.

London police say they are now focused on gathering information, not “making arrests”

As supporters of a pro-Palestinian protest group celebrated outside the High Court on Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police force admitted that the decision was likely to cause “confusion among the public as to what will happen next,” and warned that “the group remains closed pending the outcome of any Government appeal, meaning that expressing support remains an offence.”

The force said the police “will continue to identify cases where support for Palestine Action is shown, but will focus on gathering evidence of those cases and the people involved to provide opportunities for law enforcement later, rather than making arrests at the time.”

“This is the most equitable approach we can take, we accept the decision reached by the court while realizing that the proceedings have not yet been fully concluded.”

Palestine Action protests and vandalism

The government banned Palestine Action in July last year, almost a month after activists stormed a Royal Air Force base to protest support for British troops. Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. These activists sprayed red paint on the engines of two tank planes and caused other damage with metal.

Palestine Action has staged direct protests at military and industrial sites in the UK since it was founded in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems UK. Officials say that the group’s actions have caused millions of dollars in damage to national security.

Earlier this month, six members of Palestine Action were charged with burglary for breaking into the Elbit Systems facility. The activists faced many criminal charges, but the judge did not return their convictions after more than 36 hours of deliberation.

Before that, Palestine Action said members directed President Trump’s golf resorts in Scotland in March of last year, it destroyed the clubhouse and the green on the Turnberry course in response his proposal to vacate the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian people and make the US and its allies “occupy” the land.

The group said at the time that it rejected “Donald Trump’s management of Gaza as if it were his property to dispose of as he likes. To make that clear, we have shown him that his property is not safe from opposition.”

Police Scotland said the force was investigating the incidents, but no arrests had been made.

In their decision on Friday, the Supreme Court justices said that although “a very small number” of the actions of the protest group “amount to an act of terrorism … regardless of the prohibition, the criminal law is available to prosecute those involved.”

The appointment of Palestinian Action terrorists came amid a push to tackle anti-Semitism

In December, after a while the Bondi Beach terrorist attackin Australia, referring to the Hanukkah event, two major British police said that the police will take the an “advanced approach” to combating antisemitismarresting protesters who use certain slogans and phrases as they seek to tackle the rise in hate crimes against Jews in the UK.

The announcement is a response, said the London Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester, to the attack on Bondi Beach, where 15 people died.

The police force mentioned a number of incidents that took place in Britain, including a car and a knife attack outside a synagogue in Manchester in October 2025 which left two Jewish people dead.

“Hate crimes are rampant, protests have intensified, and cyber-bullying has increased since 2023,” the police force said. “The growing fear in Jewish communities, and the high number of terrorist attacks that have occurred in recent years requires an improved response.”

“The words and songs used, especially in protests, matter and have real consequences in the world,” the statement said. “Now, in the face of a growing threat, we will reorganize to be stronger.”

“We know that communities are concerned about posters and chants such as ‘globalize intifada’ and those who use them in future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” the two forces said. “The acts of violence have happened, the context has changed – words have meaning and consequence. We will take decisive action and arrest.”