MPs back government’s ban on Palestine Action

“Palestine Action members have used violence against people responding at the scene of attacks” he told MPs.

“Members of the organisation have been charged with serious offenses, including violent disorder, grievous bodily harm with intent, and aggravated burglary”, he added.

“People engaged in lawful protest do not throw smoke bombs and fire pyrotechnics around innocent members of the public and people engaged in lawful protest do not cause millions of pounds of damage to national security infrastructure, including submarines and defence equipment for NATO”.

He went on to tell the Commons that: “We would not tolerate this activity from organisations motivated by Islamist or extreme right-wing ideology, and we cannot tolerate it from Palestine Action”.

Jarvis said that backing the proscription would “send a clear and unambiguous message that this Parliament stands against terrorism, however and wherever it manifests itself, only in applying the UK's counter terrorism framework without bias can we maintain confidence in it.”

As well as proscribing Palestine Action, MPs were asked to vote to proscribe the Maniacs Murder Cult – a neo-Nazi organisation – and the Russian Imperial Movement, a white supremacist, ethno-nationalist group whose members have fought alongside Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine.

Some MPs objected to being made to vote in favour of proscribing all three groups together.

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn questioned why the groups were being banned at the same time, but was shot down by Dan Jarvis, who reminded the MP for Islington North that he voted against Al Qaeda proscription, when they were banned along with dozens of other groups in 2001.

Independent pro-Gaza MP Ayoub Khan questioned whether Palestine Action’s efforts could be dealt with by existing criminal legislation.

However, his argument was enthusiastically rejected by Conservative frontbencher Harriet Cross, whose party backed the proscription.

"If you're using pyrotechnics against people who are escaping an attack by your organisation, that is intent. If you're intending to damage RAF property and MOD property by sabotaging RAF jets at Brize Norton, that is intent", she told the Commons.

Suspended Labour MP Zarah Sultana – who previously posted “We are all Palestine Action” on social media, repeated the phrase at the conclusion of her speech.

Government whip Christian Wakeford, MP for Bury South, was heard chanting “no we’re not” in response.

During her intervention, she described proscription as “an unprecedented and dangerous overreach of the state” and said Palestine Action’s “true offense has been audacious enough to expose the blood-soaked ties between this government and the genocidal Israeli apartheid state and its war machine.”

Labour Friends of Israel chair Jon Pearce also brought up the group’s attacks on Jewish buildings and businesses.

"In May this year, a building housing Jewish-owned businesses in North Manchester was vandalized with red paint and graffiti reading 'Happy Nakba Day'. Later that month, a Jewish owned business in Stamford Hill was attacked by the organisation with windows broken, red paint graffiti and damage done to the building's Mezuzah", he told MPs.

He went on to say: “This campaign of antisemitic harassment reveals the logical conclusion of their extremism … this group targets a specific group within our country of a specific ethnic and religious minority.”

Some MPs appeared to compare Palestine Action with the suffragettes and the civil rights movement.

Pro-Gaza independent MP for Leicester South said that the “freedom we hold dear today”, such as women’s equality, racial equality “and the end of apartheid were not born out of men and women in suits in this in this establishment, but people by people out there”.

Earlier in the debate, Labour MP Clive Lewis told the Commons: "I think we have to understand that there is a long history in this country of direct action which pushes the boundaries of our democracy”, that shouldn’t be labelled terrorist.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Lisa Smart told the Commons she was unconvinced by the arguments in favour of proscribing Palestine Action and 66 MPs abstained with six voting both in favour and against the motion.

Despite the motion passing overwhelmingly, Conservative MP Julian Lewis, who is Jewish, abstained on the motion and cautioned the government that losing a court case over the proscription of Palestine Action “would do the country and the government no favours”.

He continued: “I fear that by using the wrong aspects of the law to pursue some people who did some very bad things indeed, the government will end up actually scoring an own goal when these people walk free with a court triumph under their belt”.

After the debate had concluded, Sultana raised a point of order in the Commons and said that Pearce hadn’t declared he was LFI’s chair before speaking.

She asked the Deputy Speaker Caroline Noakes: “What mechanism are available, so the British public are truly aware of what interests are truly represented on this floor”, which Nokes said was a matter for the parliamentary commissioner for standards.

The MPs’ vote was welcomed by the Jewish Leadership Council.

A spokesperson for the group told the JC: “We are pleased that MPs approved the proscription of Palestine Action. In addition to their criminal damage of infrastructure key to the security of this country, Palestine Action have targeted several Jewish and Israeli charities and businesses.

“The escalation in their extremist activity has increasingly made them a threat to the Jewish community and wider society.”

The motion moves to the House of Lords tomorrow.

However, Palestine Action was granted an urgent high court hearing on Friday in order to challenge the proscription order.

If their challenge fails, it will be a criminal offence to be a member of – or express support for – Palestine Action, punishable by up to 14 years in jail.