UK government deems Palestine Action a terrorist group

UK Members of Parliament have voted 385 to 26 in favour of the legislation that will classify Palestine Action, as a terrorist organisation, according to Middle East Eye on July 2nd.

The designation that the UK government voted for makes any support towards Palestine Action a criminal action. The group is now a terrorist group on par with groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The order that bans the support of Palestine Action is anticipated to be in effect later this week. Any support of this terrorist group will be deemed by the British government as a criminal offence where an individual could face up to 14 years in prison.

Although legal action is being carried out to obstruct the law, with a hearing that will occur on July 4th at London’s High Court.

This order is being highly criticised by civil liberties and human rights advocates who have said that the ban itself is criminalising dissent against Israel’s military operations in Gaza.

Palestine Action is a direct action group that is in opposition against the war on Gaza and it has largely targeted arms firms. 

Social action has faced opposition in the UK, particularly in British campuses. In Cambridge University, pro-Palestine protest encampments on campus were slammed by two colleges from the university, through court injunctions, Middle East Eye reported on June 7th.

As Maghrebi also reported on June 9th, the encampments were led by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P), which claimed the injunctions work towards restricting dissent in the university.

Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org