British lawmakers have voted in favour of banning the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation.
The draft order to amend the “Terrorism Act 2000” and proscribe three organisations, including Palestine Action, which was formally presented by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper earlier this week, was passed in the House of Commons by 385 votes to 26 on Wednesday.
The order also bans two neo-Nazi groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult (MMC) and the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).
On Tuesday, the government announced that Palestine Action was set to be banned "following advice from cross-government experts."
During Wednesday's voting, Home Office Minister Dan Jarvis said: "By implementing this measure, we will remove Palestine Action's veil of legitimacy, tackle its financial support and degrade its efforts to recruit and radicalise people into ‘committing terrorist’ activity in its name."
Many politicians and human rights organisations have expressed concern since the government announced its plan to ban the group.
Recently, a group of more than 400 cultural figures urged the British government to step back from its intention to ban Palestine Action and to "stop arming Israel."
UN human rights experts on Tuesday also called on the government to abandon its plan to classify Palestine Action as a “terrorist organisation” under the “Terrorism Act 2000”, warning that such a move would violate international standards and suppress legitimate dissent.
Palestine Action's response
Following the vote, a spokesperson for Palestine Action said: "We are confident that this unlawful order will be overturned. As United Nations experts have made clear, spraying red paint and disrupting the British-based operations of Israel's largest weapons firm, Elbit Systems, is not terrorism."
The order will go to the House of Lords, and final approval is expected to come within days.
If passed, the order will make it a criminal offence to be a member of one of the groups or to invite or recklessly express support for them and make it an offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to belong to or support the groups.
Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered at Downing Street outside the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday to oppose the government's decision.
Speaking at the rally, Saeed Taji Farouky from Palestine Action said: "The very principle of solidarity with Palestine is being criminalised."
"This will not end with Palestine Action. Palestine Action is the beginning. (This is) the first layer of oppression, and it will continue. And this is what terrifies me the most. Not only is the movement of Palestine Action being targeted itself, but the very principle of solidarity with Palestine is being criminalised," he said.
Zarah Sultana, the Independent MP for Coventry South, said that if this order goes through, people could face 14 years in prison "for simply being here in support of Palestine Action."
"I could go to jail, everyone here could go to jail for wearing a badge, sharing a post," she noted.
Israel's carnage in Gaza
Israel killed over 56,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in besieged Gaza since October 2023.
Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.
Experts, however, contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
Over the course of the genocide, Israel reduced most of the enclave to ruins and practically displaced all of its population.
It also blocked the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid and only allowed the entry of the controversial US-backed aid group, which was established to bypass the UN aid work and condemned for being a "death trap."
