UK Court of Appeal rules Palestine Action ban lawful

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the UK's ban on the group Palestine Action is lawful, according to a Reuters report published on 15 June 2026. The group was formally proscribed, meaning it was officially listed as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000, the law that sets out how such groups are banned.

The ruling reverses the outcome of an earlier case. In February 2026, London's High Court ruled that the ban was unlawful because it unlawfully curbed free speech. The UK government said it would appeal immediately, and the Court of Appeal has now sided with the government.

Palestine Action has said it will challenge the Court of Appeal ruling at the Supreme Court, the highest court in the UK. The case is listed by the Supreme Court as UKSC-2026-0099, with Ms Huda Ammori as appellant. Ms Ammori is one of the group's two co-founders. She challenged the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe the group under section 3 and Schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000. In July 2025, the co-founder asked a court to overturn the ban.

The ban was added to the list of proscribed groups by an order in 2025, the Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2025. A government announcement dated 1 July 2025 said the group's activity met the legal test for proscription. The government's explanatory memorandum, a document that accompanies a piece of secondary legislation, states that Palestine Action prepares for terrorism.

The official list records 84 terrorist organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act 2000.