The British government has said it will deploy antiterrorism laws to ban Palestine Action, a prominent campaign organisation that has protested against Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza and the United Kingdom’s role in supporting it, in the wake of its activists damaging two military planes.
Protesters clashed with police in London’s Trafalgar Square on Monday at a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine Action. The crowd moved towards police when officers tried to detain someone, while protesters chanted “let them go”.
The government’s move will make it a criminal offence to belong to the pro-Palestinian group and effectively place them in the same category as Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda or ISIL (ISIS) under British law.
It would be illegal for anyone to promote Palestine Action or be a member. Those who breach the ban could face up to 14 years in prison.
Activists from the group broke into a Royal Air Force (RAF) base in central England last week and claimed to have damaged two military aircraft to protest against the UK government’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
Palestine Action said two of its members entered the RAF Brize Norton military base in Oxfordshire, spraying paint into the engines of the Voyager aircraft and attacking them with crowbars.
“Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” the group said in a statement on Friday, posting a video of the incident on X.
The group said the red paint “symbolising Palestinian bloodshed was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene”.
It said the activists were able to exit the military facility undetected and avoid arrest.
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