UK appeals ruling against Palestine Action ban

April 28, 2026

Summary

Britain will appeal a High Court ruling that found its ban on Palestine Action was unlawful, while the ban remains in force.

Why this matters

The case will help determine how far the U.K. can use terrorism laws against a protest group and affects people already arrested for expressing support. It also carries broader implications for protest rights and counterterrorism policy.

The U.K. government is set to appeal a High Court ruling that found its ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.

A two-day hearing begins Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in London. In February, High Court judges said proscribing the direct-action group as a terrorist organization was “disproportionate.”

Since the group was banned last summer, more than 2,700 people have been arrested under terrorism laws for holding signs that read, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Although the government lost in the High Court, the ban remained in force throughout the appeals process, and support for the group remains illegal.

The legal status of those arrested remains unclear.

London’s Metropolitan Police said after the High Court ruling that it was unlikely to arrest supporters, but it reversed that position weeks later. Earlier this month, more than 200 protesters were arrested in central London. Last week, novelist Sally Rooney, climate activist Greta Thunberg, and Israeli historian Ilan Pappe were among celebrities and scholars who signed a letter declaring support for Palestine Action, a move that also risks arrest.

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 by Huda Ammori, a Briton of Palestinian and Iraqi descent, and former Extinction Rebellion activist Richard Barnard.

Several remand prisoners, including some who staged a prolonged hunger strike seeking an end to the ban, and activists on bail have alleged that their human rights were violated because of their alleged association with the group. The Ministry of Justice denied that claim.

Rights groups criticized the ban and urged the government not to appeal. In its annual report, Amnesty International said the U.K. “continued to use counterterror laws to restrict peaceful protests against the genocide in Gaza and ban the organisation Palestine Action [as] arms exports to Israel continued.”

The ban placed the group in the same legal category as armed groups including ISIL and al-Qaeda. Last month, Human Rights Watch wrote, “When the state blurs the line between activism and terrorism, it is not defending security, it is undermining freedom.”

It was unclear when the Court of Appeal would issue its ruling.

In a statement to Al Jazeera, the Home Office said, “There are many lawful ways to support the Palestinian cause without being a member or supporter of this harmful organisation.”

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A two-day hearing begins Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in London. In February, High Court judges said proscribing the direct-action group as a terrorist organization was “disproportionate.”

Since the group was banned last summer, more than 2,700 people have been arrested under terrorism laws for holding signs that read, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Although the government lost in the High Court, the ban remained in force throughout the appeals process, and support for the group remains illegal.

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