The British government on Thursday sought to block the co-founder of pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action from bringing a legal challenge over the banning of the group under anti-terrorism laws.
Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances, or damaging equipment. It accuses Britain's government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Palestine Action proscribed in July
The group was proscribed as a terrorist organization in July, making it a crime to be a member, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. More than 1,000 people have since been arrested for holding signs in support of the group.
Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, was granted permission in July to challenge the group's proscription on the grounds that it was arguably a disproportionate interference with the right to freedom of expression.
Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) is asking the Court of Appeal to overturn that decision and rule that any challenge to proscription should be heard by a specialist tribunal, rather than the High Court.
Palestine Action was proscribed shortly after some of its members broke into the RAF Brize Norton air base and damaged two planes in June, for which four members have been charged.
The group has particularly focused on the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.TA and Britain's government cited a raid at an Elbit site last year as the reason for proscribing the group.
Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023.