CNN
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British lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group aimed at disrupting the operations of arms manufacturers that supply the Israeli government.
Members of the parliament voted between 382 and 26 in support of measures against the group after two Palestinian activists invaded Britain’s largest air force base in central England and caused damage to two military aircraft.
The draft ban will reach the Senate Thursday. If approved by a senator, the ban will come into effect the following day.
A complete ban means that under British law it is illegal to be a member of Palestinian actions or invite assistance. It set up groups on par with terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al-Qaeda and ISIS, sparking criticism from UN experts, human rights groups and politicians.
UK Interior Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government’s intention to ban the group on June 23 after two Palestinian action activists sprayed red paint on two Airbus Voyager turbine engines.
Videos from the scene showed activists spraying red paint on the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers. The group says their suspect role in carrying military cargo and it is being used in refueling military aircraft in Israel, the US and the UK.
A source from the Ministry of Defense told CNN at the time that RAF Voyager hadn’t carried anything to Israeli forces or refueled Israeli aircraft.
Palestinian actions announced Monday that they have begun legal proceedings against the government’s decision. Huda Ammori, co-founder of the group, said Crumpdown reflects “many authoritarian regimes around the world that used counterterrorism to crush dissent.”
If the ban comes into force, it is likely that this is the first time in British history that direct action protest groups have been banned under anti-terrorism law, according to some human rights advocates.
People who violate the ban could face up to 14 years in prison, according to the British terrorism police and the government. Police say that even if an individual wears clothing items that “stimulates reasonable doubt” that they are members of the group or supporters, they could face six months of prison or fines.
Human rights groups have been vehemently criticising the government’s moves, saying it is the latest in a series of harsh measures the state has taken to crack down on the country’s legal protests.
Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said on June 23 that prohibiting Palestine’s actions could put the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and “illegal interference.”
She wrote to lawmakers on Tuesday to warn that banning the group would be a “serious misuse of the forces of anti-terrorism.”
“To ban Palestine’s actions means that by the end of the weekend, millions of people living in the UK will have restrictions on their freedom of speech,” she said.
UN experts also said they were worried about “unfair labelling of political protests as “terrorists”” in addition to the chorus of increasing criticism on Tuesday.
Others previously shared messages of solidarity with the group. “We’re all Palestinian actions,” Labour MP Zara Sultana posted on X on June 24th.
Palestinian actions called the government’s response to air-based actions “indifference.”
“The real crime here isn’t the spraying of red paint on these war planes, but the war crimes made possible on those planes due to the accomplices of the British government in the Israeli genocide,” the group said in a statement on June 24th.
Kara Fox from CNN contributed to this report.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
