The UK Supreme Court has begun hearing a legal challenge to the proscription of Palestine Action, with the group’s co-founder arguing that the ban has damaged public trust in terrorism legislation and led to widespread civil disobedience. The Palestine Action ban challenge, brought by Huda Ammori, questions whether outlawing the group under terror laws is compatible with rights to free speech and protest. On the first day of the hearing, police arrested 27 demonstrators outside the court.
Legal Arguments Centre on Proportionality
Henry Blaxland KC, representing Ammori, told the five justices that banning the group had not reduced its profile but had instead intensified public debate around one of the most contested issues of the day. He argued that proscription was a disproportionate and unnecessary step. The court heard that the Home Secretary had assessed only three of 385 incidents linked to Palestine Action as amounting to offences under the Terrorism Act. Raza Husain KC, also for Ammori, said the ban rested on less than one per cent of the group’s actions over five years, and that most of its direct action—such as graffiti, minor vandalism, occupations and lock-ons—would not meet the legal definition of terrorism. The definition includes serious property damage for a cause, and at least two break-ins at defence firms have been described in criminal courts as causing millions in damage. The court was told that one member had been convicted and jailed for fracturing a police officer’s back with a sledgehammer, but that the group had never endorsed such violence.
Arrests and Pending Trials
Home Office figures seen by the BBC indicate that more than 4,000 arrests have been made at protests where people held signs supporting Palestine Action, with some individuals arrested multiple times. Prosecutors have authorised 1,200 charges so far, but those trials are on hold until the Supreme Court rules. Ammori’s legal team said thousands of people, many of them elderly and veterans of other campaigns, had been arrested for holding placards.
Jewish Groups Split on the Ban
The court has received submissions from free speech campaigners who argue the ban interferes with the right to protest. A coalition of Jewish groups, however, described Palestine Action as a “sinister” organisation intent on attacking community interests. Adam Wagner KC, in written submissions for the Jewish communal groups, said the Court of Appeal had rightly found Palestine Action to be a violent organisation concerned in terrorism with a wide range of targets. He argued that its activities were often covert and showed no restraint, and that at the time of proscription it had an escalating trajectory and expanding focus. Wagner said the group’s crosshairs had moved from targeting Elbit, a defence firm with an Israeli parent company, to figures or institutions it deemed “Zionist,” and that because most British Jews and Jewish institutions have a connection with Israel, such a campaign in practice threatens the mainstream Jewish community. Jewish Bloc, a group that campaigns in solidarity with Palestinians, told the court that claims Palestine Action targeted the Jewish community were a fundamental misrepresentation of the evidence. Rachel Scott KC, for the organisation, said neither the Jewish Leadership Council nor the Community Security Trust has a democratic mandate to speak for British Jews, and that framing Palestine Action as threatening the Jewish community was demonstrably false.
What Happens Next
The hearing continues on Thursday, with a judgment expected at a later date. The outcome will determine whether the ban stands and will affect the many pending prosecutions linked to support for the group.
