Labour must do more to uphold the right to free speech and explain more clearly why there is a ban on Palestine Action, a Labour peer has urged.
The former Deputy Labour Leader, Harriet Harman, said that the party should not only ensure the safety of the Jewish community but also ensure that Brits still have the right to protest.
Her remarks come as hundreds of activists have been arrested in recent weeks for holding signs saying “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Speaking on the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Harman spoke about police arresting elderly protestors and urged the government to do more to explain why Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
"At the moment, it just looks like the police are arresting octogenarian vicars who are worried about the awful situation in Gaza," she said, adding: "So they've got to actually be much clearer in why Palestine Action is a terrorist group and that they're justified in prescribing them and making them illegal.”
During the podcast, Baroness Harman also maintained that supporting the Jewish community and ensuring their safety is crucial, while also acknowledging the “devastating loss of life” in Gaza.
She suggested the government must "try and create an atmosphere where the Jewish people should not feel that they are under threat and be asking themselves whether this is the right country for them to live in and be bringing up their families".
“They also have to support and uphold the right to free speech and the right of protest. And people have felt so horrified,” she continued.
More than 68,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed by Israel in a brutal two-year onslaught in the Gaza Strip that a growing chorus of experts describes as a genocide.
Palestine Action, which was protesting against the UK allowing arms sales to Israel, was proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK government this summer in a widely criticised move that many feel is silencing those who oppose the conflict.
The proscription means that Palestine Action falls into the same category as proscribed international terrorist groups, like al Qaida and ISIS.
Since then, a number of demonstrators have been arrested for showing support for Palestine Action, donning placards that voice opposition to the genocide and support for the group.
This week, a ceasefire was finally announced between Hamas and Israel, but some are viewing the tentative peace with caution.
So what is Palestine Action?
Who are Palestine Action?
Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian protest network that seeks to disrupt Israeli weapons factories in Britain.
The group was founded by Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard in 2020. That year, members of the group allegedly climbed onto the roof of Elbit factory in Staffordshire with sledgehammers and whips, reportedly causing £1m worth of damage.
Elbit Systems manufactures 85 per cent of Israel’s drones. Two factories have permanently closed and their London headquarters have been abandoned following Palestine Action’s disruption.
“We’re very clear that our primary purpose is disruption. Naturally we use social media to broadcast our actions, to inform people about what’s going on in these factories and encourage others to join us. But the point is not simply to ‘raise awareness’ or put pressure on politicians. We bypass politicians and go straight to the aggressors,” Ammori wrote in a post on New Left Review.
She added that disruption had two forms. Firstly, focusing on stifling Israel’s ability to carry out its military aims and secondly, disrupting Israel’s economy.
The group have claimed responsibility for over 300 incidents at buildings such as universities and British-based defence facilities, resulting in the imprisonment of several members.
In August 2024, five Palestine Action members were jailed for a total of five years and two months, after reportedly causing more than £1,130,783 of damage at a weapons factory in Glasgow.
A spokesperson for Palestine Action said: “When our government fails to uphold their moral and legal obligations, it is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to take direct action. The terrorists are the ones committing a genocide, not those who break the tools used to commit it.”
Palestine Action founders
Huda Ammori
Huda Ammori was born in Bolton to a Palestinian father, who is a surgeon, and an Iraqi mother. She went on to study international business and finance at the University of Manchester, where she founded the university’s Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
The 31-year-old said that her Palestinian great-grandfather was killed by British soldiers in the 1936 uprising against the British.
Ms Ammori has been outspoken about the risk she is willing to take through her activism. “When you do these types of actions, you do it with an understanding that you could end up in prison,” she told Prospect.
Richard Barnard
Raised Catholic, Barnard was once part of a Christian anarchist group called the Catholic Worker, which seeks to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable”. He has broken into American Air Force bases in Germany nine times, alongside local monks, Prospect has reported.
Today, Mr Barnard identifies as Muslim. As well as co-founding Palestine Action, he’s also a member of Extinction Rebellion.
He’s currently facing three charges for two speeches he gave on October 8 and October 11 2023, for which he is asking for donations to help cover legal costs.
He wrote on Crowd Justice: “I've been accused of one count of inviting support for a proscribed organisation, namely Hamas, under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act and two counts of encouraging 'criminal damage' against Israeli weapons factories under s44 of the Serious Crime Act.”
