UK Government 'set to proscribe Palestine Action after RAF protest'
THE UK Government is set to proscribe Palestine Action, effectively treating them as a terrorist group, after activists staged a protest at an RAF base, reports say.
Sky News and the BBC report that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will make the announcement on Monday, making it illegal for people to join or support the protest group.
The decision comes after the group posted footage online showing two people inside the base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
The clip shows one person riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine.
The still shows the activists under the planes (Image: Palestine Action) The group said it took the action as flights leave Brize Norton for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus daily. The UK Government has been flying spy planes over Gaza from this location.
"Despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets. Britain isn't just complicit, it's an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East," a spokesperson said.
"By decommissioning two military planes, Palestine Action have directly intervened in the genocide and prevented crimes against the Palestinian people."
The incident is being investigated by counter terror police.
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(Image: Palestine Action) The Home Secretary has the power to proscribe an organisation under the Terrorism Act of 2000 if she believes it is 'concerned in terrorism'.
Proscription will require Cooper to lay an order in Parliament, which must then be debated and approved by both MPs and peers.
Palestine Action regularly demonstrate across the UK, targeting firms linked to weapons manufacturers.
Palestine Action Scotland has also targeted Scottish Enterprise due to grants it provides to firms supplying Israel with weaponry.
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