This statement is one of solidarity, and one of intent. It is a response to the Labour government’s stated aim – made by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper – to “proscribe [ban] Palestine Action under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000. A draft proscription order will be laid in Parliament on Monday 30 June. If passed, it will make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action”. This would mean those who “join” or express support for Palestine Action could face sentences of up to 14 years in prison.
Palestine Action is “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”. We believe their actions have been proportionate – and effective – and that they have public support.
We demand that the government ends all diplomatic, economic and military support for Israel, and withdraw their threat to proscribe Palestine Action.
In 2004, current Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended a man who broke into the nearby RAF Fairford base (which hosts US bombers) and attempted to set fire to military aircraft. This was part of a trial of five people who had broken into the military air base in 2003 and disabled equipment in order to disrupt military operations at the start of the Iraq War. Starmer argued in Court that the activists’ actions were justified because they were to stop an ‘illegal war.’ As in similar cases in which Palestine Action activists have faced jury trials, two of the defendants were acquitted in May 2007 after the jury accepted their actions were reasonable for trying to prevent war crimes. Palestine Action now faces proscription for the same protest action which Starmer had defended as legal – this time using only paint, not fire.
If the government goes ahead with their plans to proscribe Palestine Action, we signal our intention to make the proscription unworkable – to defy it, to encourage others to do so, and to assist people in taking actions similar to those taken by Palestine Action.
It is necessary to directly disrupt the production of weapons used in the genocide in Gaza and in the illegal occupation and apartheid conducted by the Israeli state, and to protest the companies and institutions complicit in this.
We know that not everyone who reads our statement will know who Palestine Action are, and may not support their actions. We don’t agree with everything people involved with the group have ever said or done. Crucially, we don’t think criminal damage or encouraging it with the aim of preventing killing should be prosecuted as terrorism.
We ask you to read more on our website (below), and consider the implications of defining these actions – even if you don’t agree with them – as “terrorism” very carefully. If you agree with our statement, we encourage you to take action, alongside us and many others:
What can you do?
- Make similar public statements yourself, or through organisations you are members of – especially unions
- Write to your MP to oppose the motion to ban Palestine Action – or write to other Labour party representatives
- Watch the trailer or attend an emergency screening of “To Kill A War Machine” – a documentary about Palestine Action that has been given BBFC classification but which would be banned if proscription of the group goes ahead
Additional information:
To accompany our statement on Palestine Action we provide these additional notes to address the following questions:
- Why is Community Solidarity Stroud District making a statement of solidarity?
- How Israel is breaking International Law
- What is Palestine Action?
- Why did Palestine Action target RAF Brize Norton?
- Is action by Palestine Action effective?
- Is there public support for Palestine Action’s cause?
- But isn’t what Palestine Action do fairly described as terrorism?
- Isn’t Palestine Action antisemitic?
- How can I get more information from Community Solidarity Stroud District?
Why is Community Solidarity Stroud District making a statement of solidarity?
We are making this statement because solidarity with other activist groups is important – we will not allow the government to single out a protest group in this way. We are making this statement alongside dozens of other organisations. This is necessary to show how farcical it is for Yvette Cooper to say that banning Palestine Action “does not affect lawful protest groups and other organisations campaigning on issues around Palestine or the Middle East”. We want the government to understand that if they “make it illegal to be a member of, or invite support for, Palestine Action”, they will be targeting us, as well as Palestine Action.
We are making this statement because the decision does not come in isolation – it continues a creeping authoritarianism and restriction of the right to protest. Some hoped that the new government elected in May 2024 would reverse or at least halt this trend, but the government is pursuing further restrictions that mean “the UK is moving out of line with other democratic states and closer into step with Russia and China”, according to experts. More than 20 legal organisations from around the world had already condemned “credible reports of serious violations of fair trial rights and other human rights of Palestine Action activists” and “called on the British authorities to “urgently cease the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation against the Filton 18” – 18 people imprisoned since August 2024 accused of “terrorism-connected” offences for action at the Filton, Bristol premises of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company.
As Liberty say: “This a concerning escalation of how the Government treats protest groups and uses terrorism powers. Proscribing a direct-action protest group in this way potentially sets a new precedent for what we do and do not treat as terrorism.
“We’re worried about the chilling effect this would have on the thousands of people who campaign for Palestine, and their ability to express themselves and take part in protests. Proscribing Palestine Action would mean that showing support for them in any way – for example, sharing a post on social media or wearing a logo – could carry a prison sentence.
“MPs must strongly consider the necessity and proportionality of this move by the Home Secretary when they debate the matter in Parliament – as well as the precedent this worrying expansion of terrorism powers would set for our democracy.”
We are making this statement in the spirit of our core mission to oppose the hatred of minorities and oppressed people. The Palestinian people are an oppressed people – experiencing apartheid and occupation and – right now – a genocide; a “war of annihilation” waged against them by Israel (in the words of activists from the Israel-based organisation Standing Together);.
Finally, we are making this statement as a community group that values the power individuals and community groups have to shape the world. We believe politics is about more than elections, that protest is about more than placards. In explaining their approach, Palestine Action say “Rather than begging those who are complicit to gain a moral compass, we go straight to the source and shut down the production of Israeli weapons.” We believe taking action in this way can be proportionate, effective, and have broad public support – as in this case.
The actions Palestine Action takes are proportionate – their intention is to prevent killing, the destruction of property, and complicity in apartheid, occupation and genocide (see our section below on how Israel is breaking International Law).
The actions Palestine Action takes are regularly effective. In their words “Palestine Action has forced Israeli weapons factories to permanently close down, companies to cut ties with Elbit [Israel’s biggest weapons producer] and lost Elbit lucrative contracts worth £billions”
The cause of Palestine Action has public support. Juries have found individuals who have taken action on behalf of the group “not guilty” in several cases, having heard arguments that the actions were necessary to protect lives and property in Palestine.
The UK government is an active participant in the genocide in Palestine. It is supplying weapons – “The UK government approved $169m worth of military equipment to Israel in the three months that followed the Labour government’s partial suspension of arms exports over concerns they could be used unlawfully in Gaza”. The UK government is also collaborating with the Israeli military – through cargo transports, refueling, and ongoing training.
How Israel is breaking International Law
The actions of the Israeli government in Gaza and in the West Bank have been widely condemned, including as unlawful. On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “declared that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful, along with the associated settlement regime, annexation and use of natural resources. The Court added that Israel’s legislation and measures violate the international prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. The ICJ mandated Israel to end its occupation, dismantle its settlements, provide full reparations to Palestinian victims and facilitate the return of displaced people.” On the 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, holding him “Allegedly responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.”
Historians of the Holocaust and experts in genocide studies, such as Prof. Daniel Blatman and Prof. Amos Goldberg, describe what is happening as “a clear picture of genocide.”
Even the UK Government’s formal position on Gaza and the West Bank acknowledges that the occupation of these territories and Israeli settlements within them are illegal: “The UK has a clear position on Israeli settlements: The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights have been occupied by Israel since 1967. Settlements are illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties.”
We are a founder member of the Stroud Ceasefire Now Coalition because of these realities. This involves us attending weekly vigils, and sharing information about events organised by partner organisations in the coalition with our supporter audience of around 800 people.
What is Palestine Action?
In their own words, “Palestine Action is a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime. Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action targets corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians.”
Why did Palestine Action target RAF Brize Norton?
Flights leave daily for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East. The base is used for UK and US military cargo transports to the Israeli military, and for surveillance missions flown by the RAF in support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The planes targeted were Airbus Voyagers, which can carry military cargo and have used to refuel Israeli/US/UK military aircrafts and fighter jets
Is action by Palestine Action effective?
Palestine Action say over a dozen companies have cut ties with Elbit, Israel’s largest weapon’s manufacturer, as a result of their actions to date. Here are some examples:
- The sole recruiters for the British operations of Israel’s largest weapons company, Elbit Systems, ended their association with Elbit after 2 months of activism by Palestine Action in November 2023.
- “property managers for Elbit Systems’ Shenstone drone factory, Fisher German… cut ties with the Israeli arms manufacturer” in December 2023.
- A machinery supplier took steps “as a direct result of [Palestine Action’s] targeted actions” to ensure they are no longer associated with Elbit Systems”, prompted by “activists abseiling inside Hydrafeed to dismantle their equipment, smashing through the front doors and spraying their premises in blood red paint”.
- Metal casting manufacturer Dean Group International “severed all ties with Elbit Systems UK subsidiary Instro Precision, and has promised never to work with Elbit Systems or its subsidiaries in the future”, less than three weeks after Dean Group was targeted by Palestine Action in a direct action campaign (in April 2025).
Is there public support for Palestine Action’s cause?
Recent polling (Opinium Research between 30 May and 2 June) showed “57 percent of people think the UK should impose a full arms embargo, with only 13 percent opposed. The poll also found 53 percent of people think Israel should be expelled from the United Nations, while 50 percent said Israeli products in supermarkets should be boycotted.”
YouGov polling in May 2025 found 41% of GB adults thought the UK should be “More critical towards Israel than it has been”, and in January 2025, 79% of GB adults supported a ceasefire and only 4% opposed one.
This polling is consistent with earlier polling – in May 2024 “55% of people support[ed] the UK ending the sale of arms to Israel for the duration of the conflict in Gaza. Only 13% want[ed] to see the continuation of arms sales”. At that time “73% of people support[ed] an immediate ceasefire in Gaza… Only 8% believe[d] that there should not be one”. At that time “Only 18% of people polled approve of the [then Conservative] UK Government’s response, while even fewer, just 12%, approve of the response from Labour.”
While there is not polling indicating public attitudes to the disruptive action taken by Palestine Action, juries have found people not guilty when they have used arguments arguing the damage they have caused is justified by seeking to reduce killing and the destruction of property:
- “On Thursday 5th October 2023, a jury unanimously found an activist from Palestine Action, Sohail Sultan, not guilty of criminal damage against Arconic… Arconic manufactures components and materials for Boeing Apache Helicopters and Lockheed Martin F-35 Fighter Jets. Both of these are routinely deployed by the Israeli military in aerial assaults on Gaza, including in the May 2021 bombardments which killed 230 Palestinians including 65 children”. A “not guilty verdict was reached after the jury deliberated on whether or not Sohail’s action was taken to immediately protect property in Palestine and in necessity to save lives.”
- In December 2023, “eight Palestine Action activists who used direct action to shut down the Israeli weapons trade [were] acquitted of a total 12 charges which included criminal damage, burglary and encouraging criminal damage”. All eight had pled “not guilty to all charges on the basis that Elbit and Israel are the guilty party, not Palestine Action”, following occupation of three Elbit Systems drone/weapon factories, their London offices, and the offices of their landlords, Jones Lang LaSalle.
- In May 2024, “Two activists from Palestine Action were unanimously acquitted of criminal damage by a jury in Leicester Crown Court”, having argued “the action taken was necessary in order to save lives and prevent the greater property damage in Palestine”. They had occupied the roof of UAV Tactical Systems, an Elbit drone factory in Leicester, “spray painted messages including “Shut Elbit Down” and “Free Palestine”, damaged a skylight to reveal a military drone inside and sprayed the building in blood red paint”.
But isn’t what Palestine Action do fairly described as terrorism?
In the context of the harm caused by Israel, this argument can seem preposterous, but it is a question worth answering.
Firstly it is worth noting that, in 2023, then Policing Minister Chris Philp stated that “Palestine Action does not meet the threshold for proscription as they do not commit, participate in, prepare for, promote, encourage, or otherwise be concerned with acts of terrorism.”
The definition of terrorism in the Terrorism Act is very broad, and in 2014 the senior lawyer tasked with reviewing the government’s terrorism legislation argued it had “begun to catch people it never really intended to catch”. The word is often selectively applied in ways that reflect an institutionalist Islamophobia or anti-Palestinian racism. “Prevent makes Muslim children unsafe. It renders schools sites of criminalisation and teachers informants in our classrooms… the intrinsic Islamophobia is no accidental byproduct: it is by design”.
In the past, destruction of weaponry has been treated as criminal damage – legal sanctions already exist without escalating consequences to the level of “terrorism”. And – crucially – juries have also acquitted people who have taken part in such activity in the past. In addition to the Palestine Action cases mentioned above, and the 2003 RAF Fairford example mentioned in our statement:
- In 1996 four women disarmed an RAF jet bound for Indonesia with hammers, causing £1.5 million in damage – their argued they were preventing British complicity in East Timor genocide – a jury found them not guilty.
- In 2017 two activists attempted to disarm Typhoon jets allegedly bound for Saudi Arabia. They were acquitted using a defence of acting in the greater good – trying to stop the UK government’s complicity in the destruction of Yemen
As Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, says: “Proscribing Palestine Action would be a grave mistake. Unlike al-Qaida, Wagner group and the other groups classed as ‘terrorist organisations’, Palestine Action does not advocate for violent armed action or for people to be harmed. They exist to decommission the weapons used to commit war crimes. Proscribing them would mark a dark turn for our democracy and a new low for a government already intent on stamping out the right to protest. The police already have laws to prosecute any individuals found guilty of a crime. And as a non-violent organisation with ‘peace’ in our name, we would never defend violence. But outlawing an entire organisation and all of its supporters would be a dangerous step.”
Isn’t Palestine Action antisemitic?
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) have claimed their dossier and demands for proscription have motivated Yvette Cooper. They argue “Palestine Action is at the vanguard of an activist movement that is severely disrupting the lives of British Jews” and that the group has “vandalised Jewish premises with impunity”. Neither of these claims bears any scrutiny.
The “Jewish premises” vandalised was the London-based landlords of ‘Discovery Park’ business park which Elbit’s Instro Precision weapons factory is situated in. Palestine Action said of the action: “Palestine Action’s direct action campaign involves targeting all those who facilitate, enable and profit from the operations of Israel’s biggest weapons producer. This includes landlords, recruiters, investors, suppliers, lobby firms, logistics firms and more. As a result, over a dozen companies have cut ties with Elbit to date. […] Instro Precision is a weapons maker owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s biggest weapons producer. The factory, which produces targeting gear for the Israeli military to commit genocide, is based in and leased by Discovery Park Ltd.”
The business was not targeted because its owners were Jewish, as is evident from the targeting of many businesses which are not Jewish owned, but which similarly have involvement with Elbit.
There has been a very concerning rise in antisemitism in recent years, and supporters of CSSD will know we have done what we can to challenge this locally (including on occasion with reference to work by the CAA). However, it is inaccurate to say that the Palestine Solidarity movement broadly or Palestine Action specifically are “severely disrupting the lives of British Jews” – this is a moral panic, and one that has an ugly taste in the context of a rise in other forms of racism including anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia, not to mention the genuinely “severe disruption” of Palestinian lives. Our anti-racism should be consistent – throwing baseless accusations of antisemitism as a strategy to undermine Palestine solidarity is entirely counterproductive to efforts to tackle and eliminate antisemitism.
Jewish people as individuals and organised in groups hold a variety of positions on Israel and Palestine. Many Jewish people feel affinity with Israel, and/or have family and friends who live there. Regrettably, some Jewish organisations who have strong ties to Israel seek to excuse or justify the recent actions of the Israeli government, and/or support Israeli policies that break international law, or far-right members of the Israeli government who express open hatred and genocidal intent. However, other Jewish groups oppose these positions, and campaign in solidarity with Palestinians. One example is Na’amod – a movement of Jews in the UK seeking to end the Jewish community’s support for Israel’s occupation and apartheid, and to mobilise it in the struggle for freedom, equality and justice for all Palestinians and Israelis. Several of the Jewish members of CSSD are also members of a recently formed local branch of this organisation: Na’amod Gloucestershire.
Na’amod UK says: “Plans to proscribe Palestine Action signal an alarming escalation of the UK government’s repression of our democratic rights. Branding the group a ‘terrorist organisation’ would render support for the group and its nonviolent tactics a criminal offence, with penalties of up to 14 years’ imprisonment. The UK still provides military support to Israel as it massacres Palestinians daily. It is an indictment that rather than uphold its legal obligations to stop arming genocide, our government criminalises nonviolent action to disrupt it. We stand in solidarity with Palestine Action & against this attack on our freedoms.”
Nonetheless, it is worth adding some advice. There is evidence that the British government’s approach to Israel and to Palestine Action is influenced by lobbying. Referring to the factual details of this is obviously not antisemitic. But going beyond this to imply that this represents a foreign state or ‘Jewish conspiracy’ “pulling the strings” in Britain is worth avoiding. It’s not the case that either Israel, Zionists, or Jews run our government – rather, the British state has a long history of imperialism, colonialism, and applying the lessons learned repressing anti-colonial movements abroad here in Britain. After the British state’s actions in Iraq (to say nothing of the more distant past), the government’s current approach to Israel should not surprise us – it is sadly a far from unique example of involvement in violence, dispossession, and enshrining inequality in law. Yet, people living in Britain and in former (and current!) colonies have regularly forced the British state to retreat, and we hope this can be the case on this occasion.
Community Solidarity Stroud District 