PALESTINE Action’s court win against its ban under terrorism laws has been hailed as “an enormous victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement”.
The group’s co-founder Huda Ammori was partially vindicated in a High Court ruling handed down on Friday which found that the ban was “disproportionate”.
Palestine Action remains banned while the UK Government prepares to appeal the ruling at a later date and some of its members’ actions were found to have fallen under the legal definition of terrorism.
But judges at the Hight Court in London said that the Home Office had failed to justify its draconian crackdown on freedom of protest “under the Palestine Action banner”.
Since July 5, 2025, it has been a terrorism offence to express support for the group or be a member.
This sparked one of the biggest waves of civil disobedience in recent British history with thousands arrested for protesting and the most significant prison hunger strikes since Irish republican prisoners began refusing food at HMP Maze in 1981.
In a statement, Ammori said the ruling was a “a monumental victory both for our fundamental freedoms here in Britain and in the struggle for freedom for the Palestinian people, striking down a decision that will forever be remembered as one of the most extreme attacks on free speech in recent British history”.
She added: “Palestine Action is the first civil disobedience organisation that does not advocate for violence to be proscribed by the British Government as a ‘terrorist’ group, in a Trumpian abuse of power which would have seen this Labour Government proscribe the Suffragettes.
“This ban was unlawful, resulting in the unlawful arrest of nearly 3000 people – among them priests, vicars, former magistrates and retired doctors – under terrorism laws for simply sitting in silence while holding signs reading: ‘I oppose genocide – I support Palestine Action’.
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“It would be profoundly unjust for the Government to try to delay or stop the High Court’s proposed order quashing this ban while the futures of these thousands of people hang in the balance, many of whom are elderly or disabled and facing up to 14 years’ imprisonment for this entirely peaceful protest.”
Green Party leader Zack Polanski called for the charges against Palestine Action supporters to be dropped.
He said: “The court has ruled that the Government’s authoritarian ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.
“Now it is time for the Government to stop criminalising the people protesting a genocide – and start ending the UK’s complicity.
“Over 2700 people have so far been arrested for holding a sign opposing genocide and the proscription of Palestine Action.
“Those already charged should have those charges dropped, and the Crown Prosecution [Service] should discontinue action against all those arrested.”
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Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: “This is an enormous victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement, for civil liberties and for our common humanity.
“The real crime is this government’s complicity in genocide – and we will not rest until we have justice for the Palestinian people.”
Stop the War coalition said Cooper and Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley should resign following the ruling.
Lindsey German, the campaign group's convener, said: "This is fantastic news. It is an utter humiliation for Yvette Cooper, Shabana Mahmood and the rest in this most authoritarian government in living memory.
"We call on Mark Rowley and Cooper to resign.
"Now the CPS must drop all the charges against those wrongly arrested and imprisoned without trial for peacefully protesting a genocide.
"That includes the charges against four of the leaders of the Palestine movement, Chris Nineham, Ben Jamal, Alex Kenny and Sophie Bolt."
Outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday morning, the news was met with cheers from people who had gathered outside.
Activist Lisa Minerva Luxx addressed the crowd saying that former home secretary Yvette Cooper “lied to the British public” to get the ban through Parliament.
She added: “She lied when she said that she had intelligence on disturbing plans, she lied about nefarious funding and the courts have proven that none of that was true. She cannot be trusted to serve as a minister of this country in any capacity and she must resign today.”
Ammori previously accused Cooper, who was home secretary when Palestine Action was banned, of making “false and defamatory” claims about the group.
Luxx also called for the current Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign, adding: “The British Government have betrayed the British people and this is a tiny morsel of a taster of how much they betrayed Palestinian people.”
The Home Secretary has said she will appeal the verdict adding that she was “disappointed” in the court’s decision.
Secure Scotland, a campaign group, said in a statement: "This is a huge victory – a very significant spoke in the wheel for a government’s aiming to criminalise and disable popular opposition to its complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
"We now hope and expect that the Home Office will abandon or fail in its attempt to appeal the judgment, and that all those who are currently entangled in this cruel and absurd criminal justice process by showing overt support for Palestine Action will be freed of all charges."
