The UK Supreme Court says it will hear an appeal against a lower court ruling that said the UK government’s ban on Palestine Action was legal.
Legal cases against more than 3,500 people arrested for alleged support of Palestine Action since last year remain in limbo until the Supreme Court hearing between October 1 and December 21, arrests for actions as simple as holding signs declaring “I oppose genocide, support Palestine Action”.
Outside the London courthouse on July 30 as the Supreme Court hearing was announced, police arrested 117 people, most for “expressing support for a proscribed organisation”, and many of them elderly as has been the case in previous protests.
The government outlawed Palestine Action on July 5 last year under terrorism legislation that made being a member or showing support an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Parliament voted after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base Brize Norton the previous month to protest against British military support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, and a series of previous actions against Israeli-connected companies in the UK.
On 15 June this year the UK Court of Appeal ruled that the government ban was legal, overturning an earlier High Court judgment in February that it was illegal.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments about the legality and authority of then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to impose the ban. But it did not grant permission to challenge the decision on two other grounds – interference with freedom of speech and freedom of association.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori has pursued the legal challenges and welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying: “The proscription of Palestine Action has become a vehicle for a far broader crackdown on expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“This unprecedented attack on free speech and the right to protest in this country is already having a chilling effect at a time when speaking out about Israel’s crimes could not be more urgent.”
Liberty, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International UK, and Greenpeace have been among NGOs that criticised what they said was a misuse of counter-terrorism powers and the impact it would have on the right to protest.
Supreme Court to consider UK ban on Palestine Action – Reuters 30 July 2026
Protesters arrested at announcement by Supreme Court – AP 30 July 2026
Palestine Action co-founder given permission to challenge ban – The Telegraph 30 July 2026
Supreme Court says Huda Ammori can challenge ban – The Guardian 30 July 2026
Court of Appeal rules ban is legal – AEJ 15 June 2026
