UK moves to ban pro-Palestinian group after activists broke into military base

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LONDON — Britain’s government said Monday it will ban the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws after the group’s members broke into a military base and vandalized two planes last week.

The measure means it will be a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

It came as protesters in support of Palestine Action clashed with police during a demonstration in central London.

Officials said two of the group’s members entered the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton on Wednesday and damaged two planes with red paint. The group released video footage appearing to show one of the activists spraying the paint into a jet’s turbine engines.

The group alleged that Britain was continuing to “send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” and condemned the country as “an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.”

The base incident was being investigated by counter-terror police.

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley described Palestine Action as an “organized extremist criminal group,” while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the protest at the airbase was the latest in the group’s “long history of unacceptable criminal damage.”

She said the group’s recent actions, including an attack against a defense factory in Glasgow in 2022, have resulted in damage that runs into millions of pounds.

In March, Palestine Action targeted one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s golf resorts in Scotland, painting “Gaza is Not For Sale” in giant letters on the lawn in response to his proposal to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population.

The government said a draft order will be laid in Parliament next week. Lawmakers still need to approve it.

Britain’s government has proscribed about 80 organizations, including Hamas and al-Qaida, and far-right groups such as National Action.