Photo via aljazeera.com
139 arrested at London protest against Palestine Action ban
Hundreds defied UK terror designation days before Supreme Court hears appeal that could overturn the ban affecting nearly 4,000 arrested since July 2025.
What happened
British police arrested 139 people outside the U.S. Embassy in London on October 31 during a mass demonstration by supporters of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian activist group proscribed under UK terrorism law. The protest, coordinated by Defend Our Juries and scheduled ahead of a Supreme Court hearing on November 4-5, drew hundreds of participants, many of them retirees holding signs declaring "I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action." Demonstrators were arrested mainly for expressing support for a proscribed organization, a criminal offense carrying up to 14 years imprisonment under UK terrorism legislation.
The UK government banned Palestine Action in July 2025 following break-ins at defense firms and military facilities. Palestine Action, founded in 2020, has conducted a sustained campaign targeting companies it accuses of supplying equipment to Israel, focusing particularly on Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems. The group's activities include occupations, vandalism, and break-ins; in June 2025, activists sprayed two military aircraft with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, prompting the proscription order. The government also cited the August 2024 incident in Bristol where activists breached an Elbit facility with a van and caused extensive damage.
The ban has been contested through the courts. In February 2026, the High Court ruled the proscription unlawful, finding it disproportionately interfered with freedom of speech and assembly. However, in June 2026, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, upholding the government's authority to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act 2000. The Supreme Court granted permission to appeal in July on limited grounds—specifically whether the Home Secretary applied her policy appropriately—but refused to hear arguments on human rights grounds. Activists and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have argued the ban represents an unprecedented extension of terrorism law to a direct-action protest group.
Nearly 4,000 people have been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action since the ban took effect, with legal cases for many remaining in limbo pending the Supreme Court's decision. Saturday's arrests were the latest in a pattern of mass demonstrations organized to challenge the proscription. The Supreme Court hearing beginning November 4 will determine whether the Home Secretary's decision to designate the group as engaged in terrorism was properly made under law.
Chanakya's Move
The UK government's move to proscribe Palestine Action was a clear strategy to shift the political cost of the Gaza conflict onto domestic protesters rather than to substantively address Israeli arms supply or military coordination. By invoking terrorism law after the June 2025 RAF Brize Norton incident, the government positioned itself as defending national security while avoiding debate over UK complicity in Israeli military operations. The Supreme Court appeal is now the resistance move: Palestine Action's legal challenge via co-founder Huda Ammori explicitly targets the "disproportionality" claim, arguing that direct action causing property damage does not meet the legal threshold for terrorism designation. The government's bet is that the courts will defer to executive judgment on national security; Palestine Action's bet is that judicial scrutiny will force the government to acknowledge the ban criminalizes political speech in ways inconsistent with human rights law. A Supreme Court ruling either way will reshape how UK law treats disruptive protest globally—and potentially influence whether other democracies adopt similar tactics against Gaza-related activism.