British government reportedly considering ban on Palestine Action

The British Home Office is reportedly considering a ban on the protest group Palestine Action, a government source told the free weekly Jewish News.

This follows a report published in May by John Woodcock, The Lord Walney, the government’s adviser on political violence, which called for bans to be placed on “extreme protest groups,” of which Palestine Action formed a part.

Established in 2020, Palestine Action has accrued significant media attention since the start of the Israel-Hamas War for its direct action against Israel-owned or -affiliated businesses, in an attempt to encourage the British government to boycott and divest.

This has included repeated attacks and vandalism targeting the buildings of Israel-owned military technology company Elbit Systems, as well as Barclays Bank, museums and universities.

Despite arrests of its members – the group declared it has “16 political prisoners in Britain” – it continues to act freely within the UK.

However, according to the Jewish News’ source, a possible proscription of Palestine Action “remains on the agenda.”

The group appears to be aware of the potential ban; on its social media, it reposted a statement of solidarity cosigned by ten groups, including the Palestine Youth Movement, Just Stop Oil, and Black Lives Matter.

Recent activity

The statement claimed that “as the genocide [in Gaza] has intensified, Palestine Action has also escalated its and actions and they have come under frequent attack from the Zionist lobby.”

“Documents have exposed how Elbit Systems and the Israeli government have pressured the police, CPS [the Crown Prosecution Service], Attorney-General’s office and government ministers to crack down on the group and have it banned.”

Last week, Palestine Action members “abducted” two busts from Manchester University, one of them of Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president.

On Tuesday, the group posted a picture of the bust without its head to X, saying “First bust of Weizmann is dead.”

The group also carried out coordinated vandalism in locations across London, including the office of the Jewish National Fund in Hendon, to coincide with the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration’s signing.