The United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal has determined that the British government acted within the law when it labeled Palestine Action a terrorist organization, overturning a February ruling by the High Court that had declared the ban unlawful.
The High Court had previously found the designation to be “disproportionate,” but the appeals court reached the opposite conclusion. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, joined by fellow appeal judges, determined that Palestine Action openly encouraged violence that meets the legal threshold for terrorism and that the group functioned through hidden, cell-like networks rather than open acts of civil disobedience.
The British government originally designated Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 in July 2025, citing a pattern of direct-action demonstrations and property destruction at sites connected to the defense industry.
Anne Herzberg, who serves as Legal Advisor of NGO Monitor, expressed support for the court’s decision. “The Court of Appeals made the right decision to uphold the government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. Since October 7, the group has gotten more and more extreme, vandalizing insurance companies, the BBC, and defense company offices,” she said.
Herzberg also described how the group broke into the offices of Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems, causing more than a million pounds worth of damage and fracturing the spine of a police officer. Four individuals involved in that incident were handed prison sentences last week.
Herzberg further noted that approximately a year ago, the group broke into a UK air force base and damaged aircraft at a sensitive moment for Western defense. “The group has long had shadowy organizing structure and financing. Their actions go far beyond any definition of peaceful protest. It is no surprise that those defending the group and decrying the court decision are also some of the loudest voices promoting antisemitic rhetoric and apologizing for the terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah,” she added.
With the Court of Appeal’s decision now in place, the government’s position that Palestine Action’s conduct warrants designation under the Terrorism Act 2000 has been fully restored.
