UK to appeal High Court ruling that granted Palestine Action a victory

London, United Kingdom – The United Kingdom is set to appeal the High Court’s landmark ruling that the government’s ban on Palestine Action was illegal.

The two-day hearing, which begins on Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in London, comes after top judges described the proscription of the direct-action group as a terrorist organisation as “disproportionate” in February.

This week’s case marks the latest development in the legal battle between the state and the activist network whose stated mission is to target companies associated with the Israeli military.

Since the UK banned Palestine Action last summer, thousands of Britons have participated in a coordinated campaign of civil disobedience, with more than 2,700 people arrested under terror laws for holding up signs reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Although the government’s case suffered a blow at the High Court, the proscription remained in place amid the appeals process – and it is still illegal to show support for the group.

The fate of those arrested remains uncertain.

London’s Metropolitan Police announced that it was unlikely to arrest supporters in the aftermath of the High Court ruling, but reversed that policy weeks later.

Earlier this month, more than 200 protesters were arrested in central London and last week, celebrities and scholars, including the novelist Sally Rooney, climate activist Greta Thunberg and Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, signed a letter in which they declared support for Palestine Action – a move that also risks arrests.

“We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action,” the letter read.

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori, a Briton of Palestinian and Iraqi descent and former Extinction Rebellion activist Richard Barnard.

Several remand prisoners – including those who engaged in a lengthy hunger strike demanding an end to the Palestine Action ban – and activists on bail have alleged that their human rights have been violated because of their alleged association with the group, a claim denied by the Ministry of Justice.