A protester holds a sign outside the High Court, after judges ruled the British government’s decision to designate pro‑Palestinian group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation unlawful. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The British government on Monday (June 15, 2026) won its appeal against a court ruling that its ban on the pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was unlawful.
Palestine Action, which had increasingly targeted Israel-linked defence companies in Britain with a particular focus on Israel’s largest defence firm Elbit Systems, was proscribed under terrorism laws last year.
London’s High Court ruled in February, after a legal challenge by the group’s co-founder, that the ban unlawfully interfered with freedom of expression, although it remained proscribed pending the government’s appeal.
Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, the most senior judge in England and Wales said the group’s behaviour was not that of a non-violent, direct action organisation, and the appeal court had concluded proscription was justified and proportionate .Lawyers for Britain’s interior minister, Shabana Mahmood, had argued at a hearing in April that the conclusion the ban had a significant impact on freedom of expression was “overstated and wrong”.
But Huda Ammori, who co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, said proscription had imposed “severe restrictions on the fundamental free speech and assembly rights of vast numbers of people” who supported the Palestinian cause. Ms. Carr said any such ban was “highly controversial” but added “it is a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promoted unlawful violence amounting to terrorism”.
Published – June 15, 2026 05:03 pm IST
