The U.K. government is set to officially classify the non-violent protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization for the first time, after a high court on Friday rejected a last-minute legal bid to halt the ban under anti-terror laws.
As of Saturday, membership in, or showing support for, Palestine Action will become a criminal offense.
The group, known for its direct action campaigns targeting Israeli weapons factories and their UK supply chains, is the first protest organization to be banned under the UK Terrorism Act.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Huda Ammori, the group’s co-founder, had sought to prevent the ban from taking effect, arguing for interim relief ahead of a scheduled judicial review.
However, following a hearing at the high court on Friday, Justice Martin Chamberlain declined to grant the application.
"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, representing Ammori, told the court.
He said his client has been "inspired” by a long tradition of nonviolent protest in the U.K., "from the suffragettes to anti-apartheid activists to Iraq War activists."
UN experts, civil liberties organizations, cultural figures, and hundreds of lawyers have condemned the ban as draconian.
They argue that it sets a dangerous precedent by conflating protest with terrorism.
Palestine Action said it is seeking "urgent appeal to prevent dystopian nightmare which criminalises thousands of people overnight."
Another court hearing is scheduled for July 21, when Palestine Action will apply for permission to launch a judicial review in an effort to overturn the order.
Unless the review is successful, being a member of or inviting support for the group that protests Israeli genocide in Gaza will carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
