(Alamy)
3 min read
The government has announced it will proscribe Palestine Action under terrorism law after the group broke into and vandalised RAF base Brize Norton.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that the decision to proscribe the group “represents a legitimate response to the threat posed by Palestine Action”.
Last week, pro-Palestinian activists broke into the base and sprayed two military planes with red paint, in an attack which Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as “disgraceful”.
In a written statement, Cooper said the “disgraceful attack” on Friday was “the latest in the long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action”.
“The UK’s defence enterprise is vital to the nation’s national security and this government will not tolerate those that put that security at risk,” she said.
Cooper added that counter-terror police are leading a criminal investigation into the attack, “gathering evidence and working to bring the perpetrators to justice”.
The Home Secretary said Palestine Action had produced practical advice to help members conduct attacks on property, titled ‘The Underground Manual’.
“The document encourages the creation of cells; provides practical guidance on how to carry out activity against private companies and government buildings on behalf of Palestine Action; and provides a link to a website which contains a map of specific targets across the UK.
“The manual encourages members to undertake operational security measures to protect the covert nature of their activity,” she said, adding that the group has used social media to recruit and train members, as well as raise funds through online donations.
Hundreds of supporters of Palestine Action gathered in Trafalgar Square near Parliament to protest the proscription of the group.
The protesters chanted “We are all Palestine Action” and “We are the people, we won’t be silenced”, with many holding banners which read “Defend the right to protest”.
The largely peaceful protest was disrupted by some commotion between some members of the crowd and the police officers, with several arrests confirmed by the Met Police. As police attempted to carry out the arrests, protesters shouted “shame, shame, shame”.
Cooper said in her statement that activists will continue to be allowed to protest the actions of the Israeli government and its conduct in Gaza against Hamas.
But she said that damage caused by Palestine Action – including to Jewish businesses – did not “represent legitimate or peaceful protest.”
“What it will do is to enable law enforcement to effectively disrupt the escalating actions of this serious group. Only last month, Palestine Action claimed responsibility for an attack against a Jewish-owned business in North London, where the glass front of the building was smashed and the building and floor defaced with red paint, including the slogan “drop Elbit”.
“Such incidents do not represent legitimate or peaceful protest. Regardless of whether this incident itself amounts to terrorism, such activity is clearly intimidatory and unacceptable. It is one that has been repeated many times by this organisation at sites the length and breadth of the UK.”
Additional reporting by Zoë Crowther.
