UK’s Palestine Action loses bid to pause ban as ‘terrorist’ group

London High Court upholds order that critics say puts the group’s anti-Gaza war protesters on a par with al-Qaeda, ISIL.

Pro-Palestinian campaign group Palestine Action‘s cofounder has lost a bid to pause the British government’s decision to ban the organisation under “anti-terrorism” laws pending their legal challenge.

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, had asked London’s High Court to stop the proscription of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation.

On Friday, the High Court in London heard a challenge to the order and Judge Martin Chamberlain ruled against Ammori, meaning the proscription of Palestine Action is upheld and will come into force at midnight.

Proscription would make it a crime to be a member of Palestine Action that carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Proscribed groups under British law include ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda.

After the parliamentary vote against the group on Wednesday, critics decried the chilling effect of the ban, which puts Palestine Action on a par with such armed groups.