The British government acted lawfully when it banned the protest group Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, the Court of Appeal in London ruled on Monday.

Chief Justice Sue Carr said the group was not a civil disobedience organization as it claimed and that it operated with covert cells to destroy property at defense companies and on military bases.

“In our judgment, that premise was seriously flawed. It was not a sustainable proposition to portray Palestine Action as a non-violent organization,” Carr said.

The ruling overturned a decision in February by three senior High Court judges who found that despite the group promoting its political cause through some crimes, the scale of activities did not warrant a ban.

The ban remained in place while the government to appeal.

Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori said the group will “fight proscription all the way” to the Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights to overturn “one of the most extreme attacks on free speech and the right to protest in modern British history.”

The government outlawed the group after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in June 2025 to protest British military support for Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, which killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. That incident followed several other acts of vandalism by the group.

Palestine Action was declared a terrorist organization alongside the likes of al-Qaida and Hamas, making membership in or support for the group a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

More than 3,300 people have been arrested at protests for holding signs saying, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” More than 700 have been charged under the UK’s Terrorism Act, although no one has yet been convicted.

Supporters of Palestine Action and civil liberties groups said the arrests for peaceful protest ride roughshod over free speech and the right to protest.

The group Defend Our Juries said the ruling is likely to lead to more police resources being wasted locking up peaceful protesters.

“It appears the courts have been instrumentalized to suppress opposition to genocide, when they should be doing the precise opposite,” the group said in a statement issued after the ruling.

Palestine Action has carried out direct action protests at military and industrial sites in the UK since it was formed in 2020, including breaking into facilities owned by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems UK. Officials said the group’s actions have caused millions of pounds in damage that affect national security.

The High Court judges said that while some of those crimes amounted to terrorist acts, they could be criminally prosecuted regardless of proscription.

On Friday, four members of the group who broke into the Elbit factory in Bristol, south west England, in 2024 and smashed equipment were imprisoned after a judge found they acted as terrorists.

More than 100 Palestine Action protesters were arrested outside the London court where the sentencing was held. (CNN)

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