Palestine Action is a direct action group in the UK. Direct action, famously, gets the goods.

Palestine Action were initially formed in July 2020 in response to the Israeli state’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories and long-standing apartheid regime. More specifically, the founders were acting in response to massacres and other war crimes committed by Israeli forces against peaceful protesters during the 2018–19 Great March of Return.

Since their formation, Palestine Action have engaged in a campaign of non-violent property destruction, primarily against Elbit Systems: an Israeli weapons manufacturer with both factories and military ties across the UK. They have also targeted offices, branches and factories of related companies, such as Barclays. They have had many successes, from companies cutting ties with Elbit to landlords turfing them out of their properties.

Following the October 7 attacks of 2023, Israel launched a massively intensified extermination campaign against the 2.3 m people of Gaza. This has continued for over a year and a half, with only one brief intermission for a ceasefire (which was then breached by Israel). Western governments—in particular the US, UK and Germany—are deeply complicit in the crimes against humanity taking place in Gaza, including forced displacement, mass starvation, intentional targetting of medical facilities and personnel and, of course, genocide. The Israeli state and its international enablers are in grave breach of international law and they know it.

Official figures report 58,000 killed in Gaza, the majority women and children. However, these figures are compiled by the same Gazan health system that has been systematically destroyed, and are certainly a significant undercount. Attempts to estimate the true figures have suggested a 40% higher count from traumatic causes alone, and over 15 times higher when accounting for all causes of death exacerbated by the conflict (such as malnutrition and preventable disease).

Palestine Action have thus far completed over 500 actions. In doing all of this this, Palestine Action placed themselves in a rich history of protest and direct action in the British Isles that stretches back hundreds of years: from Chartist and suffragette struggles for the right to vote to anti-nuclear peace camps and conscientious objectors; from those seeking the abolition of slavery to the very labour movement draped in whose skin the current government shamelessly continues to shamble. The movement has also spread to other countries; seeds cast to different soils with their own compositions and rich histories of resistance.

Two weeks ago, Palestine Action staged their most audacious action yet, breaking into the RAF Brize Norton military airbase on e-scooters and covering two planes’ engines in red paint sprayed from repurposed fire extinguishers. The Ministry of Defence was surely embarrassed; nobody was hurt.

Again, this is part of a rich tradition of direct action both targeting planes (e.g., the Stansted 15) and military airfields in particular (e.g., the Fairford Five). Juries have historically been sympathetic to such actions and successive governments have often embarrassingly failed to secure convictions; this was the case just last year for Palestine Action, as a jury acquitted all of the defendants of criminal damage for a factory rooftop occupation. In recent years, judges have ruled out possible defences (as they also have with climate protesters) in an attempt to get around this, but have continued to be thwarted by juries exercising their rights to nullification. Opinion polls put around 60–70% of Britons in opposition to Israel and in favour of an immediate ceasefire, and favourability towards Israel is at a historic low across Europe.

Following this latest action, the government announced that it would be submitting an order to proscribe Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The order was presented to Parliament on June 30^th and passed overwhemlingly. Once the group is proscribed (from 00:01 on Sat 5 July) the following can result in hefty fines and prison time (up to a maximum of 14 years):

• membership or claimed membership of the group;
• displaying the group’s iconography (so best to chuck out any red boiler suits); and
• expressing support for the group (or expressing anything that could reasonably be considered support for the group; see the recent paraglider emoji case).

The backlash has been swift, from civil liberties groups to sitting MPs. The Haldane Society of socialist lawyers published an open letter denouncing the decision. Civil servants in the Home Secretary’s own department have called the move absurd and have no idea how they can hope to enforce it. Records of Parliamentary debates from the introduction of the Act have been shared, revealing those who predicted this possible outcome even 25 years ago, and the false assurances they were given by the then-Labour government.

A legal crowdfunder for Palestine Action’s fight against the proscription (and now, following the rejection of their request for interim relief, campaign for deproscription) reached 150% of its intended goal in a matter of days; a petition reached almost 5,000 signatures in the space of just one. I did not expect the government to back down on this, but already their (as far as I can tell) unprecedented one-week delay between announcement and actual submission of an order has made a mockery of the whole endeavour, as has our profoundly pathetic prime minister’s prior role defending one of the Fairford Five.

This is an unprecedentend and unjustifiable exercise of authoritarian power on behalf of an embattled and deeply unpopular government, whose leaders are deeply complicit in a modern holocaust witnessed around the world. This is only the first such use of this power to counter an effective direct action campaign movement; it undoubtedly won’t be the last.

Everything I have said so far is factual reportage. This can, probably, still all be said safely following the proscription. What I am about to say is my strongly-held opinion, and will remain my opinion in several hours’ time, at which point it will be a criminal offence to express. But the penalties only apply to actions made following the proscription. I am not a public figure and I have no great platform from which to speak, but I do have this site, which goes along as an integral part of my identity to anybody who has my email address (should they decide to follow the domain name).

So let me now, whilst I am still able, go on the record to express my profound respect for Palestine Action and all of the actionists. Let me state unequivocally that their actions are just, justified and inspiring. That their bravery is remarkable—would that I had some small measure of it—and that I hope its members find ways to continue their righteous struggle. That this very repression reflects the shame and fear of a ruling class that can feel resistance welling beneath its feet. That every window smashed or factory rendered inoperative in the cause of liberation is a small but vital contribution added to imbalanced moral ledger of this nation. That unjust laws must be disobeyed.

May the real criminals face justice. I would prefer it to be fair and orderly (should they submit to such a thing), but I’ll take rougher justice over none at all.

May Palestine Action be but the first of many such groups, and its influence spread far and wide.

May many more consciences be stirred to action and many more discover muscles of courage hitherto unflexed.

May Palestine be free, from the river to the sea.