LONDON — In what critics describe as the most aggressive suppression of pro-Palestinian dissent in recent UK history, more than 70 demonstrators were arrested across the country on July 12, with over 40 detained in London alone. Their alleged offense? Holding placards, chanting slogans, and standing in silent support of a group now banned by the British government.
Police cited provisions of the Terrorism Act 2000, under which even symbolic or non-violent support for a proscribed group is treated as a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison. The target of this sweeping enforcement was Palestine Action, the anti-arms trade network officially labeled a terrorist organization on July 5.
The proscription followed the group’s admission that its activists entered RAF Brize Norton, damaging military refueling aircraft used in Israeli weapons transfers. Despite the act being non-lethal, Home Secretary James Cleverly designated the group a terrorist threat, a move human rights experts say sets a dangerous precedent.
According to reporting by Al Jazeera, officers arrested demonstrators for “displaying slogans, wearing T-shirts, or holding signs” perceived as support for Palestine Action. One placard read, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” That alone was deemed criminal under the law.
According to OHCHR in response, a group of United Nations special rapporteurs issued a statement warning that Britain was misapplying anti-terror legislation. As noted by the UN experts, “We are concerned at the unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’,” the experts said. “According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.”
Also reporting on the development, Mehr News highlighted British authorities arrested dozens of demonstrators on Saturday for expressing solidarity with Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group recently outlawed under anti-terrorism laws that have drawn widespread criticism from human rights observers. According to London’s Metropolitan Police, “Officers have made 41 arrests for showing support for a proscribed organization. One person has been arrested for common assault.” Additional arrests were confirmed in Manchester, while campaign group Defend Our Juries reported a total of at least 86 arrests nationwide, including in Wales and Northern Ireland. Earlier this month, UK lawmakers designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organization after its members breached a Royal Air Force base and damaged military aircraft to protest Britain’s support for Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza.
The crackdown comes amid growing international condemnation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths and widespread infrastructure destruction. By criminalizing advocacy for Palestine Action, whose core mission is to obstruct the British-Israeli arms pipeline, the UK government is now squarely accused of shielding Israel from scrutiny by suppressing local dissent.
The Home Office has justified its position by citing the group’s “repeated unlawful activity,” but legal experts warn that such proscription without due parliamentary process undermines both democratic accountability and civil liberties. The move was enacted through a statutory instrument, bypassing full legislative scrutiny.
Palestine Action has since filed for judicial review, with a hearing scheduled in the High Court for July 21. The legal team argues that the government has violated Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“This case is about more than one organization,” said barrister Nabila Hassan, lead counsel for the group. “If the UK can label peaceful, property-targeted protest as terrorism, then no dissident voice is safe.”
The controversy follows the implementation of the Public Order Act 2023, which granted police sweeping powers, such as stop-and-search without suspicion and banning protests judged “disruptive.” Human rights groups like Liberty and the Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights warn these changes represent a chilling effect on democratic freedoms, especially when protest intersects with foreign policy.
Civil rights organizations, including Amnesty International UK and Liberty, have condemned the British government’s authoritarian turn, warning that the use of terrorism laws to target peaceful Palestine supporters is a dangerous abuse of legal power. These groups have backed legal challenges against the proscription of Palestine Action, describing it as a calculated attempt to erase dissent and insulate the UK’s military alliance with Israel from public accountability. The government’s move has sparked outrage across human rights circles, which see this crackdown not as a defense of security, but as a deliberate effort to criminalize opposition to war crimes in Gaza.
In Parliament, a number of opposition lawmakers have denounced the arrests as politically motivated and legally indefensible. Rather than upholding democratic principles, British authorities appear more focused on shielding Israeli defense interests than protecting civil liberties at home. By turning anti-terror legislation into a weapon against Palestine solidarity, the UK is signaling that any challenge to its role in enabling genocide is now punishable by imprisonment. The message is clear: those who expose the blood-stained arms trade between London and Tel Aviv will be silenced.
Public pressure is steadily building ahead of the scheduled judicial review on July 21, as supporters of Palestine Action plan renewed protest actions to challenge the government’s crackdown. Legal advocates and civil society groups are calling for the reversal of the proscription and the dismissal of terrorism charges against peaceful demonstrators. While the courts may yet place limits on the government’s sweeping interpretation of anti-terror law, the UK’s current posture has already drawn sharp criticism for turning counterterrorism policy into a tool of political censorship.
