ISTANBUL

The co-founder of Palestine Action on Friday won a legal challenge in the UK over the group's ban as a "terrorist organization."

Huda Ammori had challenged the ban at a trial in the High Court in London, where judges ruled that the group’s proscription under terrorism legislation was unlawful.

"The High Court ruled the Palestine Action ban is unlawful as it is disproportionate to free speech and the Home Secretary breached her own policy," Ammori said on X.

"The court ordered the ban be quashed. Details of lifting the ban will be decided and completed at a later date."

Overall, the court said in a summary published on its website, the proscription of the group was "disproportionate" and "the nature and scale of its activities falling within the definition of terrorism had not yet reached the level, scale and persistence to warrant proscription."

Palestine Action, however, will remain banned to allow for further legal arguments.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government will appeal against the High Court's decision, arguing that the proscription of the group "followed a rigorous and evidence-based decision-making process," endorsed by the parliament.

"I am disappointed by the Court’s decision and disagree with the notion that banning this terrorist organisation is disproportionate," she wrote on X.

Palestine Action was banned in July 2025 under the Terrorism Act after members of the group entered a Royal Air Force base and spray-painted two aircraft, causing £7 million ($9.44 million) in damage, according to police. Hundreds of pro-Palestine activists have since been arrested across the UK.

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn termed the decision an "enormous victory for the Palestinian solidarity movement, for civil liberties and for our common humanity."

"The real crime is this government’s complicity in genocide - and we will not rest until we have justice for the Palestinian people," he added, referring to Israel's war on Gaza that killed more than 71,000 people in over two years and destroyed the territory that now needs to be rebuilt.