UK’s Supreme Court set to hear appeal against ban on Palestine Action group

LONDON — A legal battle over a ban on Palestine Action activists resumes Wednesday as co-founder Huda Ammori takes her fight against the government’s designation of the group as a terrorist organization to Britain’s highest court. The two-day hearing, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the Supreme Court, comes as the group’s prohibition has failed to quell support for the pro-Palestinian group, leading to mass arrests across the UK.

In another day of protests, more than 300 supporters were arrested on Saturday by London police for displaying placards bearing the now-prohibited slogan: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” According to campaign group Defend Our Juries, which has organized demonstrations backing the movement, around 4,200 people have been arrested since the British government outlawed Palestine Action in July last year. Those detained include large numbers of pensioners, among them a priest, a former financial adviser, a military veteran and Swedish student climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address Get it By signing up, you agree to the terms Public expressions of support for Palestine Action have become a criminal offense, as the ban places the group in the same legal category as the Islamist Al-Qaeda organization and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah. Demonstrators gather outside the Westminster Magistrates Court in London, July 30, 2026, as a plea hearing for 25 people accused of showing support for Palestine Action takes place. (AP/Alberto Pezzali) The ban followed a series of crimes allegedly committed by members of the movement, including causing 7 million pounds’ ($9.5 million) worth of damage to aircraft at a Royal Air Force base in June 2025, and causing a million pounds’ worth of damage and injuring a police officer with a sledgehammer in a raid on a facility belonging to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems in Bristol in August 2024.

The ban was imposed under the UK’s Terrorism Act and made membership of or support for the pro-Palestinian group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Advertisement But Ammori will argue that “only three of the 385 actions undertaken by PA over five years were assessed as meeting the definition of terrorism,” according to court documents. In February, London’s High Court dealt a blow to the government, ruling the decision to proscribe Palestine Action was “disproportionate.”

The court found the ban had resulted in “substantial interference” with the rights of freedom of expression and assembly. However, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June, concluding the ban was “not unlawful” and that Palestine Action was “a covert organization operating with secret cells.” Supporters of Palestine Action stage a protest outside the Royal Court of Justice in London, April 28, 2026. (AP/Kin Cheung) The ruling added it was “a fundamental mistake to overlook the fact that Palestine Action overtly promotes unlawful violence amounting to terrorism.”

Founded in 2020, Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global support for Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.” Advertisement The organization gained prominence after the outbreak of the Gaza war, triggered by the Hamas terror group’s devastating attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Ammori has now been granted permission to challenge the ban at the UK’s highest court on a narrow procedural ground, arguing the Home Office failed to follow its own criteria in its decision.

If unsuccessful, Ammori has already indicated she will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Anti-Israel protesters hold a banner in support of the Palestine Action group outside The Royal Courts of Justice, Britain’s High Court, in London on February 13, 2026. (Ben STANSALL / AFP) Few demonstrators gathered in London on Saturday appeared optimistic about this week’s legal challenge. “It is more than likely that they will lose in the Supreme Court,” said gardener Sam Johnson, 43, who said he had already been arrested three times over his support for Palestine Action.

“Our best hope will be the ECHR.” Former financial adviser Marji Mansfield, 70, who said she has been arrested about 10 times, expressed growing frustration. “I’m losing faith in the judicial system,” she said, adding “there is no sign that the government is about to reverse its position.” Mansfield argued that lifting the ban would also ease pressure on the courts, now faced with handling thousands of cases linked to the ban. Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

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