The New Dark Age

The government’s decision to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation is being rushed through Parliament. 

It will be subject to a legal challenge, but legal action will take time and the ban on Palestine Action will have an immediate impact on the movement.

Counter-terrorism laws give the police wide ranging and poorly defined powers, leaving a lot of room for police to use their discretion and abuse their power.

The ban is a political move intended to shut down solidarity campaigns by criminalising support for Palestine Action, and the widespread confusion about what the ban will mean in practice is intended to have a chilling effect on protest around the on-going genocide. 

Experience of previous counter-terror policing tells us that these powers are used in an overtly racist and Islamophobic way. Because there is so much discretion allowed to police about what constitutes an “expression of support” for a proscribed organisation, these powers tend to be applied unevenly and unpredictably. 

We’ve produced an explainer to help you understand what the ban will mean in practice. The guide covers:

• What the law says about terrorism and proscribed organisations
• What actions and expressions of support will be banned
• What the legal penalties for breaking this ban are

We also answer some common questions, like “could I get in trouble for my Palestine Action tshirt?”, “should I delete old posts about Palestine Action on social media?”.

Read the full guide on the Netpol website now, and share it on BlueSky, Instagram and Facebook to help us get this guidance out.

Remember, the ban HAS NOT passed yet. Make a donation to Palestine Action’s legal support costs while it is still possible to do so, and sign Palestine Action’s petition to stop the ban.