Overview

• Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act after members vandalised RAF aircraft at Brize Norton.
• Founded in 2020, the group has mounted direct-action campaigns against defence contractors such as Thales and Elbit Systems and intensified tactics early in 2024.
• The ban proposal will be debated in the House of Commons next Monday following Cooper’s written statement to MPs.
• If approved, membership or support for Palestine Action would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison and add the group to Britain’s list of 81 proscribed organisations.
• Several hundred supporters rallied in central London on announcement day, resulting in three arrests and prompting criticism from activists and Greenpeace UK over free speech and democratic rights.