UK justice minister defends ban on Palestine Action after more than 500 arrested

Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the group, which has been designated a "terrorist organization," carried out violent acts and posed a threat to public safety.

Her comments came after a large demonstration in London over the weekend opposing the ban during which police arrested 532 people. Official figures show that 348 of those detained were aged 50 or over.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Davies-Jones said: “I want to thank the police for their bravery and their courage in carrying out their diligent duties in the line of public protection, and I want to state that the right to peacefully protest in this country is a cornerstone of our democracy, and of course, we respect that.

"But with regards to Palestine Action, they are a proscribed terrorist organization and their actions have not been peaceful. They have violently carried out criminal damage to RAF aircraft. We have credible reports of them targeting Jewish-owned businesses here in the UK, and there are other reasons which we can’t disclose because of national security," she said.

“But they are a proscribed terrorist organization and anyone showing support for that terrorist organization will feel the full force of the law.”

In June, the government announced a ban under the Terrorism Act 2000 after activists from Palestine Action spray-painted planes at a Royal Air Force base, an act being investigated under counter-terrorism laws.

The ban was later passed in the House of Commons and the House of Lords in July.

Palestine Action describes itself as a direct-action network targeting companies involved in supplying Israel’s military.

The UN high commissioner for human rights also publicly criticized the UK’s decision to ban Palestine Action.

And the UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights has been granted permission to intervene in the judicial review.

The High Court has granted permission to Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, to bring a full judicial review against the order of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, banning the group as a terrorist organization.