Common Knowledge opposes the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

The UK government’s plan to ban Palestine Action and label its participants’ property damage as ‘terrorism’—as soon as next week—is an unprecedented and reckless attack on our fundamental right to political protest.

History shows that civil disobedience is a vital tactic in resisting genocide and oppression, and the general history of social change. Continuing this noble tradition, Palestine Action performs acts of criminal damage against property to prevent a far greater war crime: the genocide of the Palestinian people.

It would be a distortion of reality to consider this terrorism and draws attention away from the true perpetrators of widespread violence against innocent civilians. The genocidal Israeli government are facilitating the systematic killing of Palestinian men, women and children along with employing displacement and starvation tactics.

This is not simply an attack on Palestine Action. It is a broader attempt to criminalise dissent, intimidate activists, and attempt to impose a cooling effect on the growing movement for Palestinian liberation. If this ban goes ahead, it will set a dangerous authoritarian precedent — one that could see people jailed for taking moral action, or even for expressing solidarity.

As a cooperative made up of and working alongside organisers and activists across many movements for justice, we believe it is essential to voice our to opposition to this order. We call on our peer organisations and colleagues to do the same.