The Media Line: UK Court of Appeal Upholds Palestine Action Terrorist Designation  

UK Court of Appeal Upholds Palestine Action Terrorist Designation  

By The Media Line Staff  

The UK Court of Appeal has ruled that the government’s designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization is lawful, reversing a previous High Court decision and concluding that the group’s activities fall within the definition of terrorism under British law.  

The ruling overturns a February judgment in which the High Court found the proscription unlawful. At the time, judges determined that the ban on the direct-action group was “disproportionate.”  

In its latest decision, the Court of Appeal found that the Home Secretary acted lawfully when proscribing the organization. Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr and fellow appeal judges concluded that Palestine Action openly promoted violence amounting to terrorism and operated through covert, cell-like methods rather than transparent civil disobedience.  

The British government first designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organization in July 2025 under the Terrorism Act 2000 following direct-action protests and property damage at defense-related sites.  

Anne Herzberg, Legal Advisor of NGO Monitor, welcomed the decision.  

“The Court of Appeals made the right decision to uphold the government’s proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. Since October 7, the group has gotten more and more extreme, vandalizing insurance companies, the BBC, and defense company offices.”  

The group broke into the offices of Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems, Herzberg recounted, causing more than a million pounds of damage and fracturing the spine of a policewoman. Four of the perpetrators were sentenced last week to years in prison.  

In addition,  a year ago, Palestinian Action broke into a UK air force base, damaging planes at a critical juncture in Western security defense, Herzberg explained: “The group has long had shadowy organizing structure and financing. Their actions go far beyond any definition of peaceful protest. It is no surprise that those defending the group and decrying the court decision are also some of the loudest voices promoting antisemitic rhetoric and apologizing for the terrorism of Hamas and Hezbollah.”  

The Court of Appeal’s ruling reinstates the government’s position that the group’s activities justify proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000.