A man is arrested during a protest in support of Palestine Action. Photograph: Guy Smallman/Getty Images
Judges overturn decision of high court that government proscription of group under Terrorism Act was wrong
The high court was wrong to rule that the ban on Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws was unlawful, the court of appeal has concluded.
A five-strong panel, including the two most senior judges in England and Wales, overturned February’s decision of the lower court that the proscription of the direct action group, the first to be banned under the Terrorism Act, was wrong.
The court of appeal’s decision will come as a relief to the government whose ban attracted widespread condemnation as well as a civil disobedience campaign defying proscription, during which more than 3,000 people have been arrested.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
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Israeli heavy duty machines carry out excavation work, damaging Palestinian-owned lands to build an illegal Jewish settlement in the Jabal Juheihan area of Hebron, West Bank on October 27, 2025.[ Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency]
UK ministers are under mounting pressure to ban a London real estate event accused of marketing land in illegal Israeli settlements, after several MPs challenged the government in Parliament and Green Party leader Zack Polanski warned that allowing it to proceed would be a “stain” on the capital.
The Great Israeli Real Estate Event 2026 is scheduled to take place in London on Sunday 14 June. Its website says attendees will be able to meet consultants on Aliyah, higher education, finances, taxation, mortgages, transferring funds and home management, and invites them to “explore the best Anglo neighbourhoods to find your dream home”. It lists areas including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramat Beit Shemesh, Netanya, Raanana, Modiin, Herzliya, Haifa, Ashdod, Beersheva and Ashkelon, while offering “special deals exclusive to event participants”.
The event promotes property in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including Gush Etzion, alongside homes inside Israel. During a debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller described the event as “Palestinian land being advertised, bartered and sold on the streets of our capital.”
Addressing the Commons, Richard Burgon, the Labour MP for Leeds East, urged Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to stop the event, drawing a direct comparison with Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.
“Let us just imagine that, this weekend in our capital city, there was a ‘great Russian real estate event’ selling off Ukrainian land. Quite rightly and without hesitation, the Government would move to ban such an illegal event. This weekend in London, there is the Great Israeli Real Estate Event, openly advertising the illegal sale of land in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories. Given that the Government rightly recognised the state of Palestine, surely we should now move to ban this event, which is selling off land illegally in Palestine.”
Cooper did not commit to banning the event, but said the government was looking into it. “We are pursuing that particular event. If we find any cases where there are breaches of UK law, we will also pursue them,” she told MPs. “The wider issue is that nobody in the UK should be advertising illegal settlements. Nobody should be pursuing illegal settlements. No businesses or organisations should be getting involved in them.”
Polanski, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, also wrote to Cooper and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan demanding urgent intervention, describing the planned event as “deeply disturbing”.
An event is planned to be hosted in London proudly promoting the sale of land on illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“This is obscene,” Polanski wrote on X. “I’ve called on @MayorofLondon and @YvetteCooperMP to stop the event and for this govt to take real action on illegal settlements.”
In his letter, Polanski said the event is due to come to London “to auction stolen Palestinian land to the highest bidder” and “proudly promotes the sale of land in settlements like ‘Gush Etzion’ in the occupied West Bank, marked as illegal under international law”.
Polanski warned that “many Londoners are rightfully concerned that an event promoting land confiscation and the destruction of homes is set to take place in our city.”
Addressing Khan, Polanski said: “Sadiq, you have previously stood with campaigners and Londoners of conscience in condemning the DSEI arms fair, and I welcomed your leadership on that issue. I ask that you now take the same principled stance against this proposed land sale, which would be a stain on our city if allowed to proceed.”
Polanski also called on Cooper to move beyond statements of concern. “Your government has a moral and legal responsibility to take action against illegal settlements,” he wrote. “This must include banning the import of settlement goods and imposing further sanctions on all Israeli Government officials responsible for authorising illegal settlements. Empty condemnation is not enough — we need to see action.”
The Green Party leader also highlighted Bank Leumi’s sponsorship of the event, saying the Israeli bank had been identified by Human Rights Watch for directly supporting settlement expansion through mortgage loans and work with construction companies building on stolen Palestinian land, including in Gush Etzion.
Cooper used the wider debate to announce new sanctions against organisations accused of supporting illegal settlements and settler violence, and said the government had strengthened business guidance to make clear that British citizens and businesses should not conduct economic or financial activity in illegal settlements.
“The expansion of the illegal settlements is not only deeply wrong, because Palestinians are being forced from their own land, sometimes in the most brutal of circumstances, but deliberately designed to try to make it impossible to ever get to a two-state solution,” Cooper told MPs. “That is the purpose for some of those involved, and we should be very clear on that and call it out for what it is.”
However, Cooper stopped short of backing a formal trade ban. She said the government wanted to target illegal settlements and activity linked to them, while avoiding an impact on what she described as “long-standing, legitimate trade” with Israel.
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Three Just Stop Oil protesters wearing orange hi-vis jackets speak with police in front of the Houses of Parliament. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
More people are being jailed in England and Wales as a result of acting to prevent climate breakdown and the war in Gaza, research reveals
Britain has created a new breed of political prisoners through the systematic incarceration of people acting to prevent climate breakdown and the annihilation of Gaza, a report claims.
The research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and the protest group Defend Our Juries says that custodial sentences for acts of direct action or civil disobedience were once rare but are now being imposed with increasing length and frequency.
Their report, which will be launched on Tuesday, points to an increase in anti-protest legislation in England and Wales, police powers and civil law injunctions brought by corporations and public bodies as well as judges removing legal defences and “exceptionally long” sentences.
In what they say is the first analysis of the jailing of “Britain’s new political prisoners”, the researchers identified 286 cases involving climate and Palestine-solidarity activists who were sent to prison for protest for a total amount of jail time of 136 years.
The average detention period in the 256 cases for which data was available was 28 weeks, with one in three protesters jailed for six months or more and one in five for more than a year.
Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.Keir Starmer confirms that he doesn’t know anything about democracy.Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Yvette Cooper proscribed Palestine Action last June (Photo: Alamy)
Exclusive: Former home secretary was told proscribing Palestine Action within six months of key Filton hearing could prejudice the case but went ahead anyway.
Britain’s former home secretary Yvette Cooper was warned that proscribing Palestine Action could prejudice the trial of six activists but went ahead anyway, it can be revealed.
Internal documents seen by Declassified show the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) advised Cooper not to proscribe Palestine Action within six months of any Filton hearings.
The Filton 24 are pro-Palestine activists accused of breaking into a factory owned by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms firm, in Bristol in August 2024.
The CPS was concerned that proscribing Palestine Action within six months of the hearings would prejudice their right to a fair trial.
Yet Cooper went against this advice and announced the proscription of Palestine Action less than five months before the first of those trials began in November last year.
Last week, the Guardian also revealed that Cooper risked being in contempt of court by justifying the proscription of Palestine Action in a column published in the Observer.
In that article, Cooper said the charges against the defendants involved a “terrorism connection” and accused the group of “intimidation, violence, weapons, and serious injuries to individuals”.
Defence lawyers sought to argue in court that Cooper had committed an “abuse of process” by discussing details of the case that were under reporting restrictions.
Mr Justice Johnson dismissed that application despite acknowledging that Cooper was “specifically advised that going ahead with the article might prejudice these proceedings”.
Taken together, the revelations suggest Cooper prioritised securing and justifying the proscription of Palestine Action over respecting due process.
Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/Keir Starmer says that he’s banning words and phrases now as well as placards.Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.
Palestine Action dismantle Elbit equipment, 6 August 2024. (Photo: Handout)
My understanding is that I am unable to mention many issues contained in this article due to secret court orders: UK judge Gags Palestine Action Defendants to Secure ‘Terror’ Stitch-Up so I won’t do that. What I will say is that the UK government and state has gone to considerable lengths to restrict the rights of Palestine Action defendants and supporters of Palestine Action persecuted for holding signs.
Palestine Action joke that appeared in the UK satirical magazine ‘Private Eye’.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Keir Starmer explains that UK is actively supporting Israel’s genocidal expansion and repeats his previous quotation that he supports Zionism “without qualification”. Keir Starmer said “I said it loud and clear – and meant it – that I support Zionism without qualification.” here: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/keir-starmer-interview-i-will-work-to-eradicate-antisemitism-from-day-one/
