Palestine Action – Terrorism, repression and corruption
Years ahead of the founding of Palestine Action, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge 2014 assault on Gaza (which killed more than 500 children and was called out as an Israeli war crime in a report by Amnesty International), activists climbed on to the roof of Elbit Systems’ subsidiary in Shenstone, UAV Engines Ltd. in protest over British-made weaponry being used to target Palestinians.
Preparing for trial the following January, the defence team asked for disclosure of the company’s export licences. But as if they had something criminal to hide, witnesses for the arms company withdrew their testimonies just days before the case and the CPS were forced to drop all charges.
Six months before the founding of Palestine Action, a Real Media journalist joined their co-founder Richard Barnard and other activists, to document their occupation of another Elbit subsidiary, Instro Precision in Kent. As can be seen in the film, despite closing down the factory for the day, with police escorting many dozens of staff from the building, police told the protesters that they were free to leave. Sitting in front of a massive graffitied slogan “Elbit Murder Machine”, and surrounded by disinterested police, Barnard speaks to the camera:
“What on earth is going on here? How can people come in here, shut down a factory that’s supposedly law-abiding, and no action be taken? The real criminals are the people who have just left.”
Real Media also documented the official launch of Palestine Action in the summer of 2020 when Barnard was joined by co-founder Huda Ammori and other activists intending to occupy Elbit’s London HQ in Kingsway. Foiled by anonymous security staff, they instead redecorated the reception area with what was to become their signature blood-red paint.
Within weeks, the first foreign interference in the UK’s justice system was apparent, when then Foreign Minister Dominic Raab gave his commitment to Israeli Strategic Affairs minister Farkash-Hacohen to stop the protest group. This promise proved difficult to enact. Over the following months and years, Palestine Action continued to grow in size and scope, organising actions at several factories and offices around the UK, while Elbit Systems continued to show a murky reluctance to prosecute.
Freedom of Information requests revealed that the UK Attorney General’s office held numerous meetings with unnamed Israeli delegates, keeping them abreast of new legislation and rulings designed to disrupt Palestine Action’s campaign while keeping Elbit out of the courts.
At the same time, the growth of a powerful climate movement was challenging the eye-watering profits of the fossil-fuel industry, and was met by a similar concerted attack on democracy and justice. Activists were engaging the media with large-scale disruptive tactics, and then they were taking their battle into courtrooms and winning acquittals when juries heard the truth. Well-funded lobbyists (centred around a network of right-wing think tanks and climate deniers) bent the ear of corrupt politicians and pushed for new repressive legislation along with procedural legal rulings that made it increasingly difficult for protesters to defend themselves in court.
Despite the foreign interference and legal repression, Palestine Action was still winning in the courts. The first full trial of any actionists took place in Newcastle at the end of 2021, and three people were found not guilty of criminal damage after a two-day trial.
In March 2022, FOI documents reveal that a meeting took place between the CEO of Elbit Systems UK, Martin Fausset, and then Home Secretary Priti Patel (who had previously had to resign as Overseas Development Minister after admitting to a series of secret meetings with officials in Israel). Patel reassured Fausset and said her officials were in contact with police over PA.
In November 2022 at Southwark Crown Court the acquittal of five ‘actionists’ saw the jury returning a unanimous not guilty verdict after just one hour of consideration, despite almost all defences being ruled out by the judge (see below).
The following April Chris Philp had another meeting with Elbit, along with the National Police Coordination Centre, and the Attorney General’s office director Kelby Halmes.
After numerous delays, a major trial took place in November 2023, lumping together several cases – all relating to actions taking place during the first year of the network, which was covered in depth in our 2021 documentary Palestine Action – a year of direct action against Elbit Systems UK.
Eight Palestine Action activists, including co-founders Barnard and Ammori faced charges of burglary, criminal damage, and encouragement to commit criminal damage. Additional charges of ‘conspiracy’ and ‘blackmail’ were dropped ahead of the six-week trial due to no prospect of success.
During the three-year wait, the legal landscape had changed dramatically for protesters facing trial.
Court proceedings risked becoming show trials in which a judge simply orders a symbolic jury to find defendants guilty, because they were allowed “no defence in law”. After climate activists were imprisoned for contempt of court just for mentioning climate, the new
campaign emerged, which despite government prosecution attempts, re-established the ancient principle that Juries Have The Right To Acquit On Their Conscience.
By the time the #Elbit8 stood trial, they could only rely on one remaining lawful defence – that of ‘belief in consent’. They had to persuade a jury that, had the employees, building owners and other affected parties, known all the circumstances around why criminal damage or other crimes had taken place, they would have given their consent.
By the end of six weeks, only one of more than 30 indictments returned a guilty verdict, with two unanimous acquittals, 7 majority decision acquittals and 23 hung verdicts – the jury unable to come to a majority decision.
The one guilty verdict was against Richard Barnard, accused of criminal damage at a property directly owned by Elbit Systems (unlike the other cases where the buildings were leased). Barnard, a committed Christian was asked whether he believed the owners would have given consent – he responded truthfully “of course not, they are an evil arms company”.
While the jury were considering verdicts, the then Attorney General Victoria Prentis KC called for the Court of Appeal to “offer clarity” on the ‘Belief In Consent’ defence, characterising protest actions as stunts. Prentis herself was accused of failing to declare fossil fuel shares, and of irregular entries in the Companies House register.
Within weeks, Elbit’s security director, Chris Morgan wrote to Policing Minister Chris Philp, pressuring for the earliest possible retrial and naming Palestine Action’s co-founders Barnard and Ammori. The CPS soon followed with an announcement of a retrial (to take place in 2027 – six years after the alleged offences).
Around this time, the idea of proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation began to emerge, but at first was dismissed. DeclassifiedUK saw an internal file which stated that “Palestine Action does not meet the threshold for proscription as they do not commit, participate in, prepare for, promote, encourage or otherwise be concerned with acts of terrorism.”
In August 2024, a group of Palestine Action supporters carried out an action against Elbit’s Filton R&D hub near Bristol, smashing through fencing and an entrance in a second-hand prison van, and attempting to smash what they believed were drones and other equipment bound for Israel to be used in Gaza. Those arrested at the scene and in the following days were held for the first time under terrorism powers, including members of family later deemed to be unconnected to the incident. Protests took place outside police stations where some were held. They have become known as the #Filton18. They were charged with various criminal offences and have remained on remand for approaching a year, with the first of three trials scheduled for November. Journalists are restricted from reporting on pre-trial hearings.
After two people jumped the fence at RAF Brize Norton and sprayed red paint at aircraft they believed were involved in servicing the Akrotiri RAF base in Cyprus, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced her intention to rush through a statutory instrument which adds Palestine Action to a list of proscribed organisations under the Terrorism Act 2020.
When it came to the government vote on Wednesday, some MPs took issue with the fact that three separate organisations were lumped together. There was no argument that the so-called ‘Maniacs Murder Cult’, implicated in mass killings, should be proscribed, but by doing so, Palestine Action would also be added to the list. An Amendment put forward in the House of Lords the next day to split that list was defeated on the basis there was no procedure to do so.
So today at the High Court, a team of top lawyers (part-funded by a public funding drive which brought in around £200k in 48 hours), applied for a Judicial Review of the Home Secretary’s decision to add PA to the proscribed list.
After hearing representations over several hours on behalf of claimant Huda Ammori (co-founder of Palestine Action) and responses on behalf of the Home Office, Mr Justice Chamberlain dismissed the claim.
Lawyers immediately launched an appeal, heard in front of three judges this evening. They gave their judgement at 22.40 tonight, finding in favour of Mr Justice Chamberlain, and keeping the proscription in place.
So at midnight, Palestine Action becomes a proscribed terrorist organisation, with all that that means in terms of protests against Israeli arms company Elbit Systems.
Real Media, along with many independent as well as corporate and state media, will now have to be extremely careful not to fall foul of legislation designed to prevent any support of any kind for a proscribed organisation.
We have been told that anything published before midnight tonight does not fall under the legislation, but that we may not be able to post links to it in future, and future coverage of matters of public interest may not be have the usual protection of Article 10 and 11 rights under the Human Rights Convention.
Applying Terrorist legislation to a wide grassroots civil disobedience and non-violent direct action movement is a first in UK history and warnings have come from many about the dark road of history that this government appears to be taking us.
As it approaches midnight, we post this last round-up of how we got here. Apologies for any typos at this late stage. The coming months may yet see a huge public backlash against increasingly draconian and authoritarian repression of civil protest – watch this space.
