August 25, 2025

In July, the solidarity group Palestine Action was “proscribed” — banned — by the British government for allegedly violating the Terrorism Act, passed by Parliament in 2000. The Act prohibits “serious damage to property” even when no human beings are hurt. In the case of Palestine Action, the fact that the group allegedly broke into Royal Air Force Brize Norton and damaged two military planes by spraying paint in the engines was enough to get the group proscribed.

RAF Brize Norton is complicit in genocide in Gaza. Associated Press reports that “Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.” A Jan. 28 report by the British Palestinian Committee defined this base as a “foundational asset” for Israel’s ethnic cleansing operation in Gaza. (aljazeera.com, Jan. 28)

On its website, the RAF boasts: “RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, is the largest RAF Station with approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff and 1,200 contractors.”

Palestine Action previously engaged in attacks on the notorious, Israel-based Elbit Systems, which manufactures weapons used to murder Palestinians.

The legislation passed that bans Palestine Action makes it a crime punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment for not only belonging to the group but supporting it. Supporters include hundreds of people arrested under the Terrorism Act for demonstrating against the ban, as well as celebrities, such as Irish novelist Sally Rooney and English film director Ken Loach.

In the view of the British government, spraying paint is a crime but committing genocide against Palestinians is not only acceptable but worthy of assistance.

Palestine Action is not alone in experiencing severe government repression. Samidoun, the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, has been targeted in multiple European countries as well as the U.S. and Canada. U.S. activists supporting Palestine have been arrested, deported, fired and suspended from school.

The international Action Center is in full solidarity with Palestine Action and activists around the world who support Palestinian liberation and who side with the Palestinian Resistance. We understand that a multiplicity of tactics have been and will be employed, and we support every effort to stop the horrific genocide taking place in Palestine.

We refuse to be swayed by attempts to divide the solidarity movement into “good protesters” who only stage “peaceful demonstrations” and “bad protesters” who “damage property.” We do not recognize the sanctity of private or government property, especially when that property is used to the benefit of the terrorist apartheid state of Israel.

End the ban on Palestine Action! Solidarity is not a crime!

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!