Proscribing Palestine Action makes them terrorists. This ‘feels’ wrong. Terrorists, like Hamas, slaughter and try to change governments by violence. On 7th October 2023, Hamas slaughtered 1200+ Israelis, provoking a war. In Britain, The Troubles, dominated daily life for forty years. There were numerous atrocities and murders during those years. The IRA tried to assassinate the British cabinet in an audacious attack, which nearly succeeded. There are terrorist groups in Africa,1 who specialise in mass kidnapping, looting, and murder. These groups are the paradigm of terrorism, which makes Palestine Action an outlier.
The Prime Minister didn’t think the Brize Norton attack was terrorism, “…..[he] condemned the action as “disgraceful”, saying it was an “act of vandalism”.2 Publicity seeking pressure groups boast about successes which are often partial at best.Keir Starmer was correct. Vandalism? Yes. A terrorist attack on the RAF? No.
“Palestine Action said the activists evaded security and claimed they had put the air-to-air refuelling tankers “out of service”.
However, RAF engineers are assessing the damage and a defence source told the BBC they did not expect the incident to affect operations.”3
Common sense says terrorists are groups like Hamas and the IRA. The 2000 Terrorism Act doesn’t recognise common sense. Terrorism is legislated in very general terms, which means Yvette Cooper is quite truthful when she says that proscribing Palestine Action is entirely proper. The Terrorism Act says terrorism,
(a) involves serious violence against a person,
(b) involves serious damage to property,
(c) endangers a person’s life, other than that of the person committing the action,
(d) creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public, or
(e) is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.4
Yvette Cooper disagrees with Keir Starmer. She said the Brize Norton attack was part of a series of actions which are terrorism. She said, In several attacks, Palestine Action has committed acts of serious damage to property with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the Government.5 (my emphasis)
Palestine Action claim they committed serious damage but RAF engineers said they hadn’t. Yvette Cooper is aggregating all of Palestine Action’s historic activities. “These include attacks at Thales in Glasgow in 2022; and last year [2024] at Instro Precision in Kent and Elbit Systems UK in Bristol.”
The Palestine Action group were found not guilty of the more serious of the two charges in Glasgow because, “It was hard to ignore how intertwined the trial of the Thales 3 and the ongoing genocide in Palestine were.”7
Palestine Action at Thales Glasgow factory was seen as justifiable by the jury because it was trying to stop possible genocide. The British government doesn’t accept that genocide is being committed and this successful defence enraged them. Following the jail sentences, on lesser charges, the Palestine Action spokesman said, “Imprisoning activists for taking action against Scotland’s arms trade with Israel only serves to protect companies enabling genocide.”8
It was a similarstory at Instro Precision who manufacture equipment for the Israeli Defence Force, ”… including XACT th64 and XACT th65 weapons sights, have been delivered in their thousands to the Israeli military for use by “marksmen of both Infantry and Special Operation Forces” including those conducting ground operations in Gaza.”9 Campaign activists were prosecuted and found ‘Not guilty’.10
These verdicts caused Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action. The Brize Norton attack was the final straw. Cooper didn’t want another courtroom denunciation of Israel and an acquittal. Proscribing Palestine Action meant campaigners wouldn’t be prosecuted for their actions but for membership of a terrorist group. Therefore, no stirring speeches, guaranteed convictions and draconian sentences.
All neat, tidy and legal, which left a nasty taste in the mouth. Palestine Action is a long way from the IRA’s murderous campaigns, isn’t it? The 2000 Terrorism Act is sufficiently elastic to accommodate Yvette Cooper’s desire for convictions but…
…in 1911 the Suffragettes would have been terrorists on this basis.
Addendum: Suffragettes
“The suffragettes heckled politicians, tried to storm parliament, were attacked and sexually assaulted during battles with the police, chained themselves to railings, smashed windows, carried out a nationwide bombing and arson campaign, and faced anger and ridicule in the media.” Source: Suffragette – Wikipedia
Notes
1 Brighton hotel bombing – Wikipedia and also see Militant Islamist Groups in Africa Sustain High Pace of Lethality – Africa Center
2 Security review launched after pro-Palestinian activists break into RAF Brize Norton – BBC News
3 loc.cit.
5 Written statements – Written questions, answers and statements – UK Parliament
6 loc.c.it
7 The Trial of the Thales 3 – Glasgow Guardian
8 Palestinian protesters jailed for causing £1.1m damage at Thales Glasgow | Glasgow Times
9 Palestine Action targets Instro Precision at Discovery Park again – The Isle Of Thanet News
10 19th May 2025
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