A lawyer representing the banned Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori told the UK Supreme Court on Wednesday that the group's protest tactics were no more extreme than those historically used by movements such as the suffragettes, as he challenged the government's decision to designate the organisation a terror group.
Barrister Raza Husain KC told a panel of five judges that Palestine Action had never advocated violence against individuals or their homes.
He argued that suffragettes, anti-war campaigners, environmental groups and animal rights activists had also employed comparable or more extreme tactics without being classified as terror organisations.
Ammori is challenging the UK government's decision to proscribe Palestine Action under terrorism legislation, placing it alongside groups including al-Qaida and Boko Haram.
Husain argued that the ban was disproportionate and infringed on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest.
He also warned that the proscription had created a chilling effect in the wider Palestinian solidarity movement, affecting journalists, academics and artists, including those with no links to the organisation.
Representing Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, James Eadie KC defended the ban, arguing that it was lawful and proportionate.
He cited the convictions of four activists, including one for grievous bodily harm, as well as a court finding a “terrorist connection” in a case involving a raid on an Elbit Systems factory in Filton, near Bristol.
At least 25 protesters, including former Friends of the Earth director Jonathan Porritt, were arrested during demonstrations outside the Royal Courts of Justice.
The Labour government, then led by Keir Starmer, banned Palestine Action under terrorism legislation in July 2025, making it the first direct-action group to be banned under the Terrorism Act in British history.
Palestine Action describes itself as a direct-action network targeting companies involved in supplying Israel’s military.
The activists broke into the RAF Brize Norton air base and spray-painted two military aircraft red, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) in damage.
The High Court ruled in February that the ban was “disproportionate,” but the Court of Appeal ruled in June that proscribing Palestine Action was lawful.
The hearing is due to conclude Thursday, with a ruling expected at a later date.
