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.
John Swinney speaking at a press conference after the 2026 Holyrood elections. Photograph: David Young/PA
Cyber agency says BlackCore targeted John Swinney, as well as interfering in New York and French elections
France’s cybersecurity agency has accused the Israeli tech company BlackCore of interfering in the Scottish elections earlier this year by targeting the first minister, John Swinney.
The disinformation detection agency Viginum said BlackCore had this year used proxy social media accounts to target Swinney, the Scottish National party, and the Scottish government on four occasions.
Viginum said BlackCore had focused its operations on municipal elections in France but had also targeted the mayoral elections in New York, won by Zohran Mamdani, and other countries such as Togo and Angola.
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The Viginum report alleges that Swinney, the SNP and the devolved government in Edinburgh were targeted by a specific campaign between 6 January and 8 May, before and during a hard-fought election for the Scottish parliament.
It said BlackCore had been involved with the “coordinated posting” and mobilisation of at least 256 accounts on the social media platform X, which enabled the distribution of about 1,400 comments. Swinney’s account was targeted 652 times, the SNP’s 338 and the Scottish government’s 112.
Swinney and fellow ministers have been vocal in their criticism of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, and have imposed a form of sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces by withholding state grants to arms firms that supply the IDF and freezing support for exports to 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/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.
Over 1,000 people showed their support for the jailed Palestine activists (Photo: Guy Smallman)
The Palestine movement mobilised outside a south London court against a state-orchestrated attack on all our democratic rights.
Four members of the Filton 24 group of Palestine activists—Samuel Corner, Charlotte Head, Ellie Kamio and Fatema Zainab Rajwani—were sentenced as “terrorists” even though they were not tried or convicted under terror laws.
The four were sentenced with a “terrorism connection” by Justice Johnson, after a jury convicted them of criminal damage.
Justice Johnson said there was a “terrorism connection” as there was “serious property damage” to Israeli weapons and claimed the defendants did the action to influence the British government and intimidate Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer.
Samuel Corner, who was convicted of criminal damage and Grievous Bodily Harm, was sentenced to eight years and eight months. Charlotte Head, who was convicted of criminal damage, was sentenced to six years. Leona Kamio, who was convicted of criminal damage, was sentenced to six years. Fatema Zainab Rajwani, who was convicted of criminal damage, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.
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The jury was not informed that they could be sentenced as terrorists if they were found guilty of the charge of criminal damages.
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At around 1pm a long line of activists, some 200 people, held up cardboard signs which read, “Saving lives is not terrorism, I support Palestine Action.” It was as part of a peaceful protest organised by Defend Our Juries.
The police arrested pensioners, disabled people and activists for taking action against the weaponisation of anti-terrorism laws to shutdown Palestine solidarity.
One sign-holder told Socialist Worker before they were dragged away, “Everything’s been rigged to make sure they’re getting sentenced as terrorists.
“The jury didn’t know there was a terrorism connection. I’m here today because I am extremely concerned about where this is heading.
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/Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
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 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.
Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Displaced Palestinians, including many children, wait in long queues to receive hot meals distributed by a charitable organization in Gaza City, Gaza, Palestine on June 7, 2026. (Photo by Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Aid is not a political tool and should not be weaponized in this way,” said an advocate at Save the Children. “The survival and needs of children in Gaza should not have to answer to airstrikes elsewhere.”
In an act described as “collective punishment” against two million Palestinians, Israel announced that it would close off the main entry points for humanitarian aid into Gaza indefinitely in retaliation for strikes launched this weekend by Iran.
Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in response to Israel’s bombing of a densely populated Beirut suburb, which killed civilians and violated a June 1 agreement not to bomb Lebanon’s capital.
In addition to retaliating with new strikes on Iran, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said on Sunday that “a number of necessary security measures have been implemented” following the missile fire, “including the closure of the crossings into the Gaza Strip, among them the Kerem Shalom Crossing and the Rafah Crossing, until further notice.”
COGAT claimed that closing the crossings “will not affect the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip” because “the substantial quantities of food that have entered the strip since the beginning of the ceasefire significantly exceed the nutritional needs of the population, according to [United Nations] methodologies.”
Contrary to this statement from COGAT, the UN report at this link https://t.co/2VNcUn8cBA shows clearly that the supply of food and water is precarious indeed.#Israel is responding to being restrained from killing Iranians by killing more civilians in #Gaza. https://t.co/ncjG2DR4bP
That is not what actual UN reports say. The World Food Program (WFP) estimated in June that about 1.6 million people living in Gaza, more than three-quarters of the population, were “facing high levels of acute food insecurity” despite the entry of food parcels and other aid since the October 2025 “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas.
In the first half of May, UN workersidentified more than 2,000 cases of acute malnutrition among young children, according to a June report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
That same OCHA report said about 678,000 hot meals were delivered in May, down from 1.5 million per day in mid-March as a result of underfunding and due to Israel’s closures and restrictions at certain entry points. The number of people receiving food parcels in May also dropped to about 820,000, down from 1.1 million in March. The rations that were distributed in May covered only about 75% of the average person’s minimum daily caloric needs, while those distributed in March covered about 50%.
While the amount of aid entering the strip has increased since the ceasefire went into effect, UN data has never suggested that the amount entering “exceeds” the needs of Palestinians. Since the truce began, reports haveconsistentlysaid the amount of aid entering the strip was only reaching part of the population, and that aid packages only contained part of the needed nutritional value, which did not meet the terms of the agreement.
Israel, which has been accused of using starvation as a “weapon of war” against Gaza by UN bodies and major human rights groups, previously closed all crossings into the strip at the start of its military assault against Iran in late February.
This not only halted the entry of food and medical aid but also blocked medical evacuations for sick and injured Palestinians, which were desperately needed due to Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s medical system. Even as entry points reopened in the following weeks, aid entry never returned to previous levels.
COGAT said on Monday that “the crossings will be reopened gradually, subject to an ongoing operational assessment and under security restrictions designed to ensure the safety of all personnel present at the crossings on both sides,” though it provided no clear timeframe or indication of how much aid would be allowed in.
“Aid is not a political tool and should not be weaponized in this way. The survival and needs of children in Gaza should not have to answer to airstrikes elsewhere,” said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe in a statement on Monday.
“For nearly three years, Gaza has been pummelled so hard by Israeli airstrikes that nothing can grow there and people have been reliant on the already small amount of aid crossing the border—aid that was never enough and is now totally out of reach,” he added. “Children in Gaza have already been starved by design. They should not now be denied water, medicine, shelter, and the other essentials needed to survive. The Israeli authorities must re-open these crossings immediately, lift the siege, and facilitate the safe delivery of humanitarian aid at scale.”
BREAKING: Israel has closed all crossings into Gaza and halted the entry of humanitarian aid following the Iranian missile strikes on Israel.
Why do Palestinians in Gaza have to pay the price for Iranian missiles?
With Israeli leaders openly stating their goal in recent weeks to expand the nation’s occupation of Gaza despite the ceasefire, international observers have suggested that Israel was using the escalation of hostilities with Iran as an excuse to ramp up its brutal treatment of Palestinians, nearly 1,000 of whom have been killed in the strip since the ceasefire went into effect.
The US-brokered ceasefire agreement signed by Israel and Hamas in October required the “full entry of humanitarian aid and relief” into the strip.
“The guarantors of the ceasefire must step in and force Israel to reopen the crossings, resume and triple the aid amounts, and totally stop any attacks on Gaza now,” said Palestinian journalist Abubaker Abed. “This is their job. And they must uphold the ceasefire agreement.”
Article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
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 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.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
