The British government has turned another screw on freedom of speech, in the latest chapter of a clampdown on protest.
Thousands of people protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza found themselves to be supporters of a terrorist organization after Palestine Action was proscribed in early July. Founded in 2020, the direct action group's aim was to ‘[disrupt] the arms industry in the United Kingdom’ by breaking into weapons factories, chaining themselves to machinery, marking buildings with red paint and destroying equipment.
Support or membership of Palestine Action is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison – regardless of whether there is an intention to commit acts of violence or property damage.
‘This is the first time in our history that a direct action civil disobedience group, which does not advocate for violence, has been sought to be proscribed as terrorists,’ Raza Husain KC, barrister for Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori, told the High Court in July. Ammori's request to mount a legal challenge to the ban was granted by London's High Court later that month.
Amnesty International UK described the proscription as ‘a major escalation beyond mere criminalization of direct-action protest activity’.
Still, people have come out in droves to defy the proscription, with more actions planned across the country. At the time of going to print around 200 people had already been arrested. One person in Glasgow was charged under the Terrorism Act after allegedly displaying a poster supporting Palestine Action in his window.
The proscription has also been used against people not expressing direct support for the group. Police ordered protesters near a BAE Systems weapons factory in Lancashire to remove shirts reading ‘Free Palestine’, while a woman in Canterbury was threatened with arrest by armed police because she was holding a Palestinian flag and signs reading ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Israel is committing genocide’.
This ban is about more than Palestine Action: it threatens a chilling effect on campaigning, not only in solidarity with Palestine, but against the arms trade more broadly. It sets a dangerous precedent for the proscription of other direct action groups, including those working on migrant rights and climate change – and the journalists covering them.
The ripple effects also pose a real danger to freedom of speech and our right to protest. Legal experts have warned that there could be increased surveillance and police raids, alongside the targeting of people who speak out for Palestine online and in the streets. The legislation also paves the way for the far-right party Reform UK, which is rapidly gaining ground in Britain, to impose further draconian measures – if it gets into power.
So where will this end?
As New Internationalist has reported, protest is under threat across the world. Since the genocide in Gaza began, Palestine solidarity activists have faced a disproportionate crackdown.
But we know that direct action works – it has won us many freedoms and protections, from the ability to vote, to legislation against disability discrimination and more. We can’t give up on freedom for Palestine. And as the government continues to funnel money to its friends in the arms industry, there are still ways to prevent, and call for an end to, the mass murder of Palestinians.
More than 58,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including at least 17,400 children – likely to be a vast underestimate. Israel has violated virtually every principle of international humanitarian law and at the time of going to press, had already killed dozens more Palestinians through its policy of starvation in Gaza. Meanwhile, the British government – which could easily implement a two-way arms embargo with Israel to help put an end to this horror – is choosing instead to further criminalize anyone who stands against genocide.
Today, people in Britain do still have the right to protest against arms companies – a right we must not take for granted. We don’t yet know where this will end, but one thing is for certain: non-violent direct action is not terrorism.
