Is banning Palestine Action likely to achieve anything?

As things stand, next Tuesday the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, will proscribe the Palestine Action organisation (PA), its members and its supporters, under terror laws.

- Sean O'Grady

The ban comes after a series of attacks on defence industry establishments and military bases, as well as large demonstrations.

It’s a move that is controversial and has itself provoked further protest. With the prosecution of Liam O’Hanlon, a member of the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, on terrorism charges, the meaning of “terrorism” does seem to be getting stretched…

What is Palestine Action?

In the organisation’s words: “Palestine Action is a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime. Using disruptive tactics, Palestine Action targets corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians.”

What's the problem?

They recently broke into RAF Brize Norton – with surprising ease – and set about vandalising, indeed sabotaging, air force planes, spraying red paint into the engine bays. No one was hurt, but it was arguably, beyond the usual definition of protest activities, the fourth such incident involving the group. Their activities, arguably, go beyond the usual definition of peaceful protest, and obviously they themselves advocate “direct action”.