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A few days ago, 325 people were arrested by police. It was a silent protest, in which hundreds of protesters sat outside the US embassy in London, holding signs saying, ‘I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.’
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July of 2025 following the vandalism of a Royal Air Force Base a month earlier. Under the Terrorism Act of 2000, for any proscribed terrorist organisation, it is a ‘criminal offence to:
- belong, or profess to belong, to a proscribed organisation in the UK or overseas (section 11 of the act)
- invite support for a proscribed organisation (the support invited need not be material support, such as the provision of money or other property, and can also include moral support or approval) (section 12(1))
- express an opinion or belief that is supportive of a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether a person to whom the expression is directed will be encouraged to support a proscribed organisation (section 12(1A))
- arrange, manage or assist in arranging or managing a meeting in the knowledge that the meeting is to support or further the activities of a proscribed organisation, or is to be addressed by a person who belongs or professes to belong to a proscribed organisation (section 12(2)); or to address a meeting if the purpose of the address is to encourage support for, or further the activities of, a proscribed organisation (section 12(3))
- wear clothing or carry or display articles in public in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that the individual is a member or supporter of a proscribed organisation (section 13)
- publish an image of an item of clothing or other article, such as a flag or logo, in the same circumstances (section 13(1A))
In the 12 months after the proscription of Palestine Action, 3,867 people were arrested for terrorism activity compared to 234 the previous year. This is also why the Irish author Sally Rooney can no longer sell her books in the UK.
Sally Rooney is an Irish author whose books, including Normal People and Conversations with Friends, brought her international fame. In the UK alone, she has sold over 1.5 million copies of her books, but in October of this year, her publisher Faber announced that ‘current legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work.’ (…) ‘To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher.’This ban on the selling of her work is due to her continued support for Palestine Action, and she stated in July of 2025 that she would donate proceeds from her novels as well as BBC adaptations of her work to Palestine Action. Her books have already been made unavailable in eBook form; currently, they are still available to buy in bookshops and online retailers until stocks run out.
Sally Rooney has not entered the country since Palestine Action’s proscription over concerns she could be arrested. There has been backlash from various activists as well as an open letter signed by activists and celebrities like Paul Mescal, Naomi Klein and Gary Lineker, which states the ‘withdrawal from sales (…) is an affront to basic free speech and expression so long taken for granted in the country.’ Some warn that the banning of Sally Rooney’s books is a form of censorship which could prove a slippery slope, as the owner of Bookmarked (an independent bookshop in Bristol) told The Guardian, ‘We’re becoming increasingly used to seeing this type of stuff happen in other countries, but this is happening on our doorstep.’
Environmental Academic, Andreas Malm, has recently been barred from entering the UK to participate in a planned panel, which included the founder of Palestine Action. Malm has never publicly endorsed the group, nor given it financial aid, but he claimed he is guilty ‘by association’. Malm said that he received a letter from the Home Office, which stated it was ‘not conducive to the public good’ for him to come to the UK, with no further explanation given. A similar event occurred earlier in the year, when left – wing activists Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur had their ETA (Electronic Travel Authorisation) revoked and so could not come to the UK to give talks at the South by Southwest festival in London. They claimed this was due to them being perceived by the UK Government as ‘anti-Israel ’, which it denied. This could pose a worrying trend if the opinions that can be heard in this country are diminished.
This Wednesday, on the 4th of November, a case against Palestine Action’s proscription as a terrorist organisation will be heard by the Supreme Court.
Image Reference: Sally Rooney by Chris Boland // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Edited by: Suhaib Shaukat
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