---
title: "UK seeks to block challenge to Palestine Action ban under anti-terrorism laws"
description: "LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - 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."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-09-25-uk-seeks-to-block-challenge-to-palestine-action-ban-under-anti-terrorism-laws/"
published: "2025-09-25T13:42:31"
updated: "2025-09-25T13:42:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 246
---

# UK seeks to block challenge to Palestine Action ban under anti-terrorism laws

> LONDON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - 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.

By Reuters · Published 25 September 2025, 15:42 SAST · Updated 25 September 2025, 15:42 SAST

## Key points
- In a dramatic twist worthy of a political thriller, Palestine Action is turning Britain into a canvas of protest, splashing red paint and blocking doors while facing the grim prospect of 14 years behind bars for their audacious antics against what they deem complicity in Israeli war crimes.
- Palestine Action has ramped up protests against Israel-linked firms in the UK, citing government complicity in alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
- The group was designated a terrorist organization in July, leading to over 1,000 arrests for supporting its cause.
- Co-founder Huda Ammori is challenging the proscription, arguing it infringes on freedom of expression, while the Home Office seeks to move the case to a specialist tribunal.
- The group's actions, including a raid on Elbit Systems, prompted the UK government’s decision to proscribe them amid ongoing tensions following the Hamas attack on Israel.

## Content

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](https://www.reuters.com/world/israel-hamas/).

The group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation 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](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N3UU02Y&linkedFromStory=true) in support of the group.

Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, was in July [given permission](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3TR1NL&linkedFromStory=true) to challenge the group's proscription, on the grounds 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](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3SN0BX&linkedFromStory=true) in June, for which four members have been [charged](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3T006U&linkedFromStory=true).

The group has particularly focused on Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems ESLT.TA and Britain's government cited [a raid](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N3OC1JD&linkedFromStory=true) at an Elbit site last year when it decided to proscribe the group.

Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its [war in Gaza](https://www.reuters.com/world/israel-hamas/), which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by Ed Osmond)