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In a decision that has sparked outrage across the UK and beyond, the British government has officially designated Palestine Action — a grassroots, pro-Palestine protest group — as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act, 2000.

For those fighting for Palestinian liberation and speaking out against UK-Israel arms ties, the move is an attempt to silence dissent. It criminalises membership or public support of a group that, until now, was known primarily for its bold acts of civil disobedience — spray-painting factories linked to Israel’s weapons supply chain, occupying arms manufacturer sites, and, most recently, entering the RAF Brize Norton and covering two military aircraft in red paint.

Symbolic, not violent — that’s how many have described Palestine Action’s methods. But that distinction didn’t stop the UK Parliament from voting 385 to 26 in favour of the ban on Wednesday. And just a day later, the High Court rejected a plea from the group’s co-founder, Huda Ammori, backed by Amnesty International and other rights groups, to pause the ban while a legal challenge was prepared.

‘A dark day for democracy’

Outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice, hundreds gathered to protest the ruling. Inside the court, four Palestine Action members were remanded into custody after being charged under counter-terror laws. Online, anger poured in from activists, artists, politicians, and ordinary users stunned by the state’s use of terrorism legislation to silence peaceful resistance.

“They once called Nelson Mandela a terrorist,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “And now they have a statue of him in Parliament Square. We are all Palestine Action.”

MP Zarah Sultana didn’t hold back either. “To equate a spray can of paint with a suicide bomb isn’t just absurd, it is grotesque,” she tweeted. “It is a deliberate distortion of the law to chill dissent, criminalise solidarity and suppress the truth about UK complicity in genocide.”

Just before the ruling took effect, she wrote: “At midnight, Palestine Action will be proscribed under the Terrorism Act. Their real ‘crime’? Exposing the UK’s role in arming Israel’s genocide. This is a dark day for our democracy. Criminalising non-violent resistance won’t silence the truth. We are all Palestine Action 🇵🇸.”

Others questioned the timing and intent. “Amazing how the UK government can decide what Palestine Action is doing is terrorism,” a user posted, “but not what Israel is doing is genocide.”

Another added: “Palestine Action is banned, but the IDF and Netanyahu are free to spread their lies. It is an utterly despicable future we live in.”

Irish rap group Kneecap, who themselves are facing scrutiny for their pro-Palestine stances, weighed in: “The Brits have labelled those anti-war and anti-genocide as the terrorists… [PM Keir] Starmer is the same as Badenoch, a fervent champion of crimes against humanity. ‘The revolution will be no re-run, brothers. The revolution will be live.’ England, get out of Ireland.”

‘In 45 minutes, I could be arrested’

Independent journalist Richard Medhurst shared a video before the ban took effect, warning that even discussing Palestine Action publicly might become a prosecutable act.

“In less than an hour, what I’m going to say here will become a terrorist offence in the UK,” Medhurst said. “Palestine Action… would target with spray paint anyone related to the Israeli arms industry in the UK. The government hit the roof and decided to proscribe them. In 45 minutes now, I could be arrested under Section 12 for saying this is wrong.”

He noted the group was deliberately lumped in with the Russian Imperial Movement and a violent fringe cult, “to ensure the proscription passed through Parliament with little resistance.”

Former UK diplomat Craig Murray, who attended the court proceedings, shared his distress: “Back to my hotel room after 13 hours in court supporting Palestine Action today. Well, we lost. But the genocide was detailed, and the British government abandoned their mask of civilised behaviour. The entire legal team was emotionally shattered.”

Commenters echoed his concerns. “New laws in the UK are expanding the scope of what can be considered a terrorist offence,” one user wrote. “Activists fear that sharing certain content, such as videos, could lead to criminal charges.”

Another simply said, “It means we have no right of criticism anymore. I can’t believe this!”

Suppression or strategy?

Many believed the silencing of Palestine Action is part of zionists’ “fear of truth”.

Shortly after the ruling, Palestine Action’s official page vanished from social media. But before it disappeared, the group left behind a statement that’s since been widely circulated, “With repression always comes more resistance.”

This proscription marks the first time a non-violent, domestic protest group has been designated as a terrorist organisation in the UK. For many, it signals not only a clampdown on Palestine solidarity movements but a chilling warning to all who believe in civil disobedience as a legitimate form of protest.

Critics argue that the move isn’t about national security, it’s about narrative control. About silencing those who disrupt the flow of weapons from British soil to Israel. About criminalising the growing chorus of youth, academics, artists, and campaigners demanding that the UK stop arming a state committing genocide.