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Palestine Action is a British pro-Palestinian direct action network. Founded in 2020 with the stated goal of ending what they describe as Israeli apartheid, the organisation also became active in the Gaza war protests in the United Kingdom, in the wake of the ongoing Gaza war.
The group disrupts the arms industry in the United Kingdom with direct action, as the organisation accuses the arms industry of being complicit in what they describe as a Gaza genocide in Gaza. Key targets have been British factories of Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and RAF Brize Norton base. In their campaigns, Palestine Action have used protest, occupation of premises, destruction of property, and vandalism, which sometimes resulted in its members being arrested. Palestine Action describes its actions as "non-violent yet disruptive", saying it has never hurt a human being.
The British government has proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist group from 5 July 2025 under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000, making it illegal to fundraise for it, wear or display anything arousing reasonable suspicion of support, express an opinion or belief supportive of Palestine Action which might encourage others to support it. Since then, British police have arrested dozens of individuals for holding signs showing support to Palestine Action. Civil liberties group have criticised the ban as "conflating protest with terrorism."
In June 2025, the Home Office announced that it intended to designate the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation after the group broke into RAF Brize Norton, vandalising and damaging two Royal Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT refuelling planes by spraying paint into their engines. On 2 July, the House of Commons voted 385–26 to proscribe Palestine Action alongside two other groups as terrorist organisations. The order was accepted by the House of Lords the following day and Palestine Action is proscribed from 5 July 2025. The High Court has a hearing on 21 July to consider an application for a judicial review to quash the proscription order; a hearing on 4 July declined to grant an interim relief order.
Since 5 July 2025, it has been an offence under the UK's Terrorism Act 2000 to be a member of Palestine Action, fundraise for it, wear or display items arousing reasonable suspicion of membership, or if someone invites support or "expresses an opinion or belief supportive of" Palestine Action and "in doing so is reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support" it. These offences carry a maximum penalty of fines and up to 14 years in prison for membership or inviting support, and up to 6 months in prison for displaying supporting items.
In April 2024, Somerset County Hall, a Listed building owned by Somerset Council, was splashed with red paint after a Palestine Action protest. The protest was related to the council's leasing of a building in the Aztec West business park to defence contractor Elbit Systems UK.
On 16 March 2025, Elbit's Aztec West site was targeted by four Palestine Action activists with, according to BBC News, a "cherry picker style vehicle and a hammer attached to a rope to smash second floor windows and douse the red paint". The four were arrested on the site, all being charged with conspiracy to damage property and two being charged with one count of assault by beating.
Hydrafeed, a supplier of 'automation equipment' for Turning and milling applications, was attacked by Palestine Action activists in June 2023 accusing Hydrafeed of supplying Instro Precision Ltd, an Elbit Systems subsidiary. Hydrafeed denied the accusation and maintained they were falsely targeted, claiming "Hydrafeed would like to inform all of our customers and suppliers that we have absolutely no connection with the aforementioned company. We do not supply and never have supplied Elbit Systems with any of our products...This act of vandalism on Hydrafeed’s property and machines was completely unfounded." Later in the year Hydrafeed allegedly broke off all ties with Elbit Systems, reportedly sending an email to Palestine Action reading; "Hydrafeed has made it clear to Instro Precision that it is not prepared to provide any sales or services of its products to Instro Precision, its parent company Elbit Systems or any of Elbit Systems subsidiaries now or in the future."
In May 2024, Edinburgh Palestine Action activists targeted a Leonardo factory in Crewe Toll, spraying red paint over the factory and fighter-jet models, as well as claiming to have sabotaged 'internet cables', with a spokesperson for the group saying, "In the early hours of Tuesday 28th May 2024, a group opened the box of cables, cut the internet wires, sprayed expanding foam inside the box and spray painted 'Stop Arming Israel' on the lid." The action was carried out, against Leonardo, according to PA Scotland, for "continuing to arm the Israeli military with weapons". In January of the same year several activists occupied the roof of the same factory.
In November 2024, Palestine Action members broke a glass cabinet in the University of Manchester's Chemistry Building on the Wilmslow Road campus, and stole two busts of Chaim Weizmann, the first president of Israel and a former teacher at the university. Palestine Action said it had "abducted" the busts to mark the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration in 1917. one individual has been arrested for the action.
On 14 June 2021, the fourth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, a similar occupation protest was staged at an Arconic factory in Kitts Green, Birmingham by three protestors. Arconic provided the cladding that allowed the rapid spread of fire across Grenfell Tower, and according to Palestine Action provide "materials for Israel's fighter jets". The occupation ended when two activists were arrested on the roof of the building two days later. One activist was remanded in prison and immediately went on hunger strike. The activist said they would end their strike if any one of four conditions were met: release of Palestine Action protestors; the eviction of Elbit from its London headquarters by property firm LaSalle Investment Management; the closure of all Elbit Systems' British operations or; release by the government of all correspondence and documents relating to its dealings with Elbit and its subsidiaries.
In January 2024, it was alleged that activists from Palestine Action were intending to target the London Stock Exchange by damaging the building and preventing trade. Six people were arrested over the suspected disruption plot. The same month, Palestine Action vandalised an office of the logistics company Kuehne + Nagel in Milton Keynes by smashing windows and spraying the building with paint. Palestine Action said the action was taken because "in the past 100 days over 25,000 Palestinians were killed". Palestine Action said they targeted the company because it was assisting the delivery of weapons to Israel.
In September 2024, the London headquarters of consultancy firm APCO Worldwide was targeted by Palestine Action over its representation of the UK interests of Elbit Systems. Activists daubed the façade of the office building with red paint using repurposed fire extinguishers, blocked the entrance and locked the doors with a bike lock.
In October 2024, Palestine Action targeted a factory in Bromborough, Wirral Peninsula, a producer of F-35 fighter plane components owned by Teledyne CML Composites. The action consisted of breaking through the roof and spraying red paint into , with a manager for Teledyne allegedly claiming "damage to the clean rooms could halt production for up to 12 months."
On 3 July 2025 four Palestine Action members - Amy Gardiner-Gibson, Jony Cink, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie and Lewie Chiaramello - were charged under the Terrorism Act with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage. All offences relate to the 20 June 2025 attack on RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which damaged two RAF tankers.
Following its break-in into RAF Brize Norton, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, introduced legislation in Parliament to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000, making membership illegal.
Following the security breach at RAF Brize Norton, the government announced that security arrangements would be reviewed at the base. It was also reported that the government was considering making Palestine Action a proscribed terrorist organisation, and in June 2025, the UK government announced its intent to proscribe the group on Terrorism Acts after the RAF Brize Norton base break-in and subsequent plane vandalism. Following a written statement to the UK Parliament on 23 June, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that a proscription order, under the Terrorism Act 2000, would be put before parliament, which would seek to ban Palestine Action as a terror organisation, following parliamentary approval.
The decision to seek a proscription order has been subject to debate in the UK. In response to the Home Secretary's statement before parliament, lawyers for Palestine Action called the proposal "unlawful, dangerous and ill thought out". Liberty expressed concern regarding the precedent and propriety of the order. Amnesty International said that UK's definition of terrorism was "overly broad" compared to similar legislation in other countries, and UK's anti-terrorism laws have given UK authorities the power to suppress free speech for years now. Further, Amnesty warned that by designation Palestine Action as a terrorist group, British authorities could next suppress freedom of speech of anyone caught expressing support for the group.
Some UK news publishers and journalists are now concerned about the restrictions when they write about these topics as the title and opening of the 9 July 2025 column by Owen Jones in The Guardian show:
"This column does not express support for Palestine Action – here's why.
Controversially, Palestine Action was bundled together in a single order for proscription with two neo-Nazi groups, Maniacs Murder Cult and Russian Imperial Movement. MPs and Peers were therefore obliged to proscribe all three together or none of them, a move that was described as sneaky in the House of Lords by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb and was criticised by multiple MPs as it would increase the pressure on them to vote in favour of proscription. On 2 July 2025 the House of Commons voted by 385 votes to 26 to proscribe the three organisations bundled together. MPs were not able to separate the three organisations to vote on them separately because they are not permitted to amend the statutory instrument.
Palestine Action challenged the designation in the High Court on 4 July 2025. Their call for a temporary block was denied, but the application to consider a judicial review to quash the proscription order was granted a hearing on 21 July. A final ruling is due on 30 July. On 30 July the High Court granted permission for a judicial review. The group was officially proscribed as a terrorist organisation from 5 July 2025.
The proscription of Palestine Action was criticised by Amnesty International as "unprecedented legal overreach", as well as by experts from the United Nations, who said that "acts intending to damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people" should not be labelled as terrorism, along with noting the move could have a "chilling effect" on political protest and "advocacy generally".
A new direct action protest group emerged in response to the decision to proscribe Palestine Action, calling itself "Yvette Cooper" after the home secretary responsible for deciding to proscribe Palestine Action. It targeted the Birmingham firm, Time Logistics, which it said transports weapons for Elbit Systems, and investment firm BNY Mellon, which it said holds shares in Elbit Systems.
On 5 July 2025, 29 people were arrested during a demonstration in London supporting the now-proscribed group. One of those arrested was Rev Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old retired priest. As of 7 July 2025, those arrested had been released on bail. Defend our Juries, which organised the protest, said protests are spreading across the rest of Europe outside British Embassies in Holland and Denmark, with dozens of protesters arrested, bringing the total to 110 in less than a week since proscription.
On 12 July 2025, protests against the proscription were held in Derry, Kendal, London, Manchester and Cardiff, with at least 70 arrests for showing support for Palestine Action: 13 in Cardiff, 16 in Manchester, 41 arrests in London. Many were quietly holding signs reading "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action". Police action varied markedly, with no arrests in Kendal or Derry, while police in Cardiff responded to similar cardboard signs with arrests on much more serious charges and searches of protesters houses. Separately, one person was arrested in the area of the London protest for common assault.
On 19 July, over 100 were arrested following protests in support of Palestine Action in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol and Truro.
On 25 July, the United Nations' human rights chief, Volker Turk, urged the UK government to lift the ban on Palestine Action, calling the proscription a "disturbing" misuse of counter-terrorism legislation, as well as "disproportionate and unnecessary."
In August 2024, five Palestine Action activists were found guilty for the 2022 protest action against Thales UK in Govan, Glasgow, with four of the defendants receiving 12-month custodial sentences and the fifth receiving 14 months.
Four members of PA were released on bail on 13 November 2024 after being arrested on suspicion of a public order offence for a lock-on protest to block entry to two Elbit Systems buildings in the Aztec West business park.
Documents obtained by Palestine Action through FOI gave details of government meetings to "reassure" Elbit Systems about Palestine Action's campaign against it. Palestine Action said that the documents demonstrate that the Home Office tried to pressure police and prosecutors to crack down on activists targeting Elbit Systems.
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