Forum Topic

High Court decides Palestine Action is not terrorist

How delightful that the High Court has decided that the government's silly proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group was unlawful!And interesting that the Met has decided not to arrest anyone deemed as supporters of PA, though they will collect details in case government appeals against the ruling are unsuccessful: surprisingly sensible of them.

Richard Carter ● 21d51 Comments

Ms BondRe your post and my response - 'John Hawkes just asks the same questions again and again and only seems to be able to trawl the internet for other countries to add with internal conflicts which suit his agenda 'When are you going to answer the questions I posed to you earlier (below) ?"1) Does Israel have the right to exist as an independent state based upon its current borders ? Y/N2) If not, where should its citizens relocate to ?3) Who then should occupy and govern this territory ?4) If it is the Palestinians would that be Hamas or the Palestinian Authority ?Rather than continued sniping from you and childish comments on colonisation, let's have a discussion on the realities and practicalities of the matter".I am not holding my breath as like Ainsworth and 2xCarter you are ready to snipe at Israel but never willing to engage in a debate over the Middle East situation.

John Hawkes ● 14d

The Palestine Action militants are going to be tried again on those charges where the jury failed to reach a verdict: criminal damage, violent disorder and grievous bodily harm.

Steven Rose ● 15d

Steven'Oh dear, Philippa, that sounds very much like the international Jewish  conspiracy theory popular with anti-Semites in the last century. In your version the Israelis aka the Jews are responsible for fomenting conflicts around the world. Which conflicts do you have in mind? Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar?'Bit unfair asking Ms Bond to justify her reasoning that Jews  have been and still are responsible for all of the ills of the world today.I suspect her to respond with some web link to an obscure online source rather than anything original from herself.

John Hawkes ● 16d

Ms Bond'John Hawkes just asks the same questions again and again and only seems to be able to trawl the internet for other countries to add with internal conflicts which suit his agenda 'If I seem to ask the same questions again and again it is because people like you, Ainsworth and Carter never answer them.My 'agenda' as you call it is simply to defend the right of Israel to exist as a self-governing independent democratic state: a right that comes with it the further right of defending itself against attacks by hostile states such as Palestine and particularly Gaza, the part of Palestine run without any electoral mandate by Hamas.I do not 'trawl the internet' to substantiate my position but in the main rely on what I read in the MSM - BBC News, the Guardian, the Mail, and Spiked Online.ie the free ones !I find your response somewhat incomprehensible for you seem to be saying that the current world wide conflicts 'have been initiated or aggravated by what is happening to the Palestinian people in their homeland'.Do you honestly believe this and if you do will you explain why ?You seem to have the same attitude towards Israel as do Carter and Ainsworth.I have posed them many times simple questions regarding Israel's right to exist in its current territory.For some reason or another they seem unable or at least unwilling to answer.So I pose them to you -"1) Does Israel have the right to exist as an independent state based upon its current borders ? Y/N2) If not, where should its citizens relocate to ?3) Who then should occupy and govern this territory ?4) If it is the Palestinians would that be Hamas or the Palestinian Authority ?Rather than continued sniping from you and childish comments on colonisation, let's have a discussion on the realities and practicalities of the matter".With regard to the last point I made, in your case it would read 'the only significance is whether other conflicts have been initiated or aggravated by what is happening to the Palestinian people in their homeland'

John Hawkes ● 16d

Mr Ainsworth'"Legitimately refute"? What does that even mean in this case?'More patronising pedantry to avoid answering questions.I think smart arsed antisemites such as you are the worst type of racist.

John Hawkes ● 16d

Carter'Steven, the reason no one bothers any more to answer Hawkes' questions is that we've learned from experience that he ignores the answers and later on asks the same tired stuff again, endlessly.'What a pathetic little cop-out.Please give me reference to where the answers to my questions have been answered such that I need not ask them again.

John Hawkes ● 16d

You seem to be confused there, Mr R. The linkages are created by Mr H, not Ms B.

David Ainsworth ● 16d

Oh dear, Philippa, that sounds very much like the international Jewish  conspiracy theory popular with anti-Semites in the last century. In your version the Israelis aka the Jews are responsible for fomenting conflicts around the world. Which conflicts do you have in mind? Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar?

Steven Rose ● 16d

Ms Bond'You seem to insist on never condemning anything that the Israeli state does or why.  Today even more countries around the world have condemned the increasing Israeli encroachment and attempts to take and taking of more Palestinian land on the West Bank.  Not only more countries but also Israeli organisations'.I do condemn the encroachment of Jewish settlers into the West Bank as it would seem wrong in international law and politically counter productive to Israel's quest for survival.I would however question the bone fides of many countries condemning them, most of whom who in nearly all contexts do not wish Israel well and question its right to exist.One does not have to trawl very hard to find instances of Islamic atrocities and terrorism carried out on the streets of UK for decades and even up to a couple of months ago; in Australia, and most barbaric in the pogrom by Hamas Palestinians against Israeli women children and the elderly, sickening descriptions of which are still coming to light.You don't seem to find any of this objectionable especially atrocities by Muslim men on individuals of your own sex as carries out in 2023.Palestinians are suffering as Israel defends itself.But, as this does not seem to bother Israel's male Muslim attackers who could prevent it by stopping their terrorist attacks, I am not sure why you should be so concerned. Tell me demonstrably please how many civilians has Israel killed in the UK, Europe and the Western world outside of those in the Middle East caught up in the war with hostile Islamic states ?In the UK, rather than Muslims being killed and threatened by Jews, Jewish children are having to be escorted to enfenced schools to prevent attacks by 'brave' adult Palestinian freedom fighters.Do you relish that fact ? No, Jews are 'not the only victims' but they are the only victims of unprovoked attacks.Palestinians victimisation if one can call it such is brought about as a consequence of terrorist actions by its unelected leadership. 

John Hawkes ● 17d

John Hawkes just asks the same questions again and again and only seems to be able to trawl the internet for other countries to add with internal conflicts which suit his agenda of which there are usually some - but since this is a time of conflict worldwide the only significance is whether other conflicts have been initiated or aggravated by what is happening to the Palestinian people in their homeland.

Philippa Bond ● 17d

Richard, in my experience John Hawkes does not generally pepper his posts with questions. The contributor who does this is David Ainsworth, as demonstrated by his last post, but he never answers questions.. This is particularly noticeable on the topic of Israel where he has always sought to conceal the full extent of his prejudice. For that reason John asked  him a few very simple questions. Paraphrasing, these include ‘Do you accept that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state within its internationally agreed borders (i.e. excluding the West Bank and Gaza)?’ and ‘Would you happy for an independent Palestinian state to be ruled by Hamas?’. He has still not answered these fundamental questions.

Steven Rose ● 17d

"Or in other words, he posts ‘stuff’ that you cannot legitimately refute …?""Legitimately refute"? What does that even mean in this case?

David Ainsworth ● 17d

Or in other words, he posts ‘stuff’ that you cannot legitimately refute …?

Sue Hammond ● 17d

Steven, the reason no one bothers any more to answer Hawkes' questions is that we've learned from experience that he ignores the answers and later on asks the same tired stuff again, endlessly.

Richard Carter ● 17d

"There are two kinds of people on the Forum I refuse to engage with: those who are abusive and those who are evasive."A good rule. I have used it in the case of abuse, certainly.

David Ainsworth ● 18d

There are two kinds of people on the Forum I refuse to engage with: those who are abusive and those who are evasive. You fall into the second category. You frequently ask questions but never answer them, as demonstrated once again by your reluctance to answer the questions posed by John Hawkes on 14/2/26 at 13.31  Answer him and I will answer you.

Steven Rose ● 18d

"When do you ever post on the murderous aggression by Hamas, who even now are executing political rivals, administering punishment punishment beatings and extorting money from Palestinian civilians?"You really care?How outraged are you by the 72,000 Gazans (or more - if the rubble was excavated) slaughtered by the IDF, mostly done from a safe distance, thousands of feet high."As of mid-February 2026, the cumulative death toll in Gaza has surpassed 72,000, according to the Ministry of Health, a figure now broadly accepted as accurate by Israeli military sources. Total Palestinians Killed: Over 72,000.Civilian Proportion: Independent scholars and UNOCHA reports estimate that approximately 70-80% of those killed have been civilians.Since a ceasefire was declared on 10 October 2025, nearly 600 additional Palestinians have been killed by continued Israeli fire, frequently cited as responses to truce violations."

David Ainsworth ● 18d

But you do trawl the internet, as demonstrated by the link you provided to a critique of Netanyahu, not to mention references to articles written by Israeli radicals. When do you ever post on the murderous aggression by Hamas, who even now are executing political rivals, administering punishment punishment beatings and extorting money from Palestinian civilians?

Steven Rose ● 18d

Trawling the internet isn't necessary.  It's continuously in the news together with increasing worldwide condemnation.

Philippa Bond ● 18d

"Under international law, the Palestinian people have a widely recognised and inalienable right to self-determination. This includes the right to national independence, sovereignty, and the establishment of an independent state.""Since the 1970s, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly reaffirmed this right, notably in Resolution 3236 (1974), which defines it as a prerequisite for peace.The International Court of Justice has affirmed that the right to self-determination is a jus cogens (peremptory) norm that applies to the Palestinian people, most recently in its 2024 Advisory Opinion regarding the occupied territories.""International bodies and many legal scholars argue that the prolonged Israeli occupation is a direct violation of this right. Some argue this grants Palestinians a right to resistance in pursuit of their independence."But:-"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that there will not be a Palestinian state, even at the cost of normalization with Saudi Arabia, during an interview aired on Thursday evening (21/11/25).“There will not be a Palestinian state. It’s very simple: it will not be established”"So Israel denies the right of a state to exist. And the USA backs and subsidises them. Game, set, match?

David Ainsworth ● 18d

A similar question may be posed in your direction, Philippa. Why do you trawl the internet for evidence of abuses committed by Israel against the Palestinians, while overlooking the aggression of Hamas both towards Israel and their own people?

Steven Rose ● 18d

Mr Hawkes  You seem to insist on never condemning anything that the Israeli state does or why.  Today even more countries around the world have condemned the increasing Israeli encroachment and attempts to take and taking of more Palestinian land on the West Bank.  Not only more countries but also Israeli organisations.You seem  to be very good at trawling the world's press on the internet for anything to post that is anti-Islamic all around the world to detract and distract from what is happening to other peoples especially Palestinians in this area.  Why do you think that it is only Jews who can be victims?  It is demonstrably not so.

Philippa Bond ● 18d

Ms Bond'https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260120-netanyahus-childhood-friend-breaks-silence-warning-of-ruined-state-and-personal-obsessions/?amp.I am afraid you do not need a friend to break silence over your anti-Israel and anti-Jewish obsessions as you condemn yourself with your own posts.

John Hawkes ● 18d

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20260120-netanyahus-childhood-friend-breaks-silence-warning-of-ruined-state-and-personal-obsessions/?amp

Philippa Bond ● 19d

Mr Ainsworth'Gosh, the Palestinians do not seem able to forgive and forget, do they? Whereas the Israeli colonisers are neo-Gandhians.'So you believe Israelis to be colonisers even though they gained UN recognition of statehood in 1948 I believe.But let's get down to what you personally believe.1) Does Israel have the right to exist as an independent state based upon its current borders ? Y/N2) If not, where should its citizens relocate to ?3) Who then should occupy and govern this territory ?4) If it is the Palestinians would that be Hamas or the Palestinian Authority ?Rather than continued sniping from you and childish comments on colonisation, let's have a discussion on the realities and practicalities of the matter.

John Hawkes ● 20d

Mr Ainsworth'And you talk about "infantile needs". Physician, heal thyself.'"Oooh Missus".Bit smug and self-righteous what ?

John Hawkes ● 20d

Mr AinsworthMy reading of your posts would suggest you are the one in favour of deadly attacks - providing they are against Israelis.'"Two Palestinians on bicycles were killed in an Israeli drone strike on Tuesday, hospital officials said, marking the latest deaths since an October ceasefire that hasn't halted deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip."'Perhaps now the Palestinians will sue for a peaceful settlement to this conflict which they must realise they will never win.And fellow travellers like you should be ashamed of yourselves for encouraging them from leafy West Putney.

John Hawkes ● 20d

"sadly what seems to be a mutual hatred still remains"Gosh, the Palestinians do not seem able to forgive and forget, do they? Whereas the Israeli colonisers are neo-Gandhians.

David Ainsworth ● 20d

Mr Ainsworth'"As of late 2025,80% to over 90% of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated destruction in the region of 84%, with figures rising to 92% in areas like Gaza City. This destruction includes over 436,000 homes, schools, and critical infrastructure.'When they stop threatening Israel and enter into peace negotiations then I am sure this fighting will stop.Then with assistance from Trump and western capital the area can be converted into a very up market holiday resort providing real jobs and honest wealth for Palestinians.Those that is who prefer this line of business to rape and murder of Israeli women, children and the elderly.

John Hawkes ● 20d

Mr Carter'Perhaps I can help out here. Walid Saadaoui  planned to smuggle 4 AK-47 assault rifles, 2 handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK and, with Amar Hussein, aimed to kill as many Jews in Manchester as they could. That is clearly terrorism.'But they were only going to kill Jews were they not ?And was this just not a more local instance of the fight against Israeli genocide and for the Palestinian cause ?Are you going to the High Court to protest this injustice ?

John Hawkes ● 20d

Mr Ainsworth'"placards falsely accusing Israel of genocide".Would you prefer the placards to call it ethnic cleansing?'What proportion of Palestinians have been killed in the war between Israel and Palestine since Israel was invaded in 2023 and how many were Hamas fighters whose declared aim is to annihilate the state of Israel and the Jews ?Your artificial intelligence I am sure will quickly come up with an answer.

John Hawkes ● 20d

Steven' Personally I don't think there is any point prosecuting a bunch of middle class twerps who think they can signal their virtue by holding up anti-Semitic placards falsely accusing Israel of genocide.'Yet they never protest the fact that Pakistani Muslims ran a paedophile gang procuring white English girls for Pakistani Muslim men; nor that there is an increasingly growing list of 'boat people' being found guilty of rape and sexual assault on white English girls nor that Muslim Palestinians in Hamas raped and murdered Israeli girls in Ocoober 2023, the effects of which remain with the victims. "Israeli hostage reveals how she survived being tortured and sexually assaulted 'almost every single day' during 482 days in Gaza - with only the thought of her kidnapped boyfriend keeping her going" https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15556979/Israeli-hostage-describes-sexually-assaulted-single-day-482-days-Gaza-tried-kill-three-times-freed-not-one-final-terrifying-ordeal.htmlAnd further afield -"Churches burned, fields destroyed and families slaughtered... the Nigerian Christians brutalised by jihadists - and the horrors I saw on the frontlines: DAVID PATRIKARAKOS" MailOnlineWhy is it that Muslims claim to revere womanhood yet they keep them so subservient in dress and status even on the streets of the UK as well as carrying out the atrocities described above ?But yes, don't prosecute these West Putney-like Israelophobic white bourgeoise women with antisemitism flowing in their veins.Don't give them the satisfaction of martyrdom.Leave their actions to be judged by public opinion of the sensibles in UK society.

John Hawkes ● 20d

I guess both sides have been bullied into subduing the fighting but sadly what seems to be a mutual hatred still remains ... perhaps not everyone but enough to cause lasting instability ...

Michael Ixer ● 20d

"Let’s cut out the sanctimonious sermonising from the moral high ground."Thanks for admitting who has the moral high ground."There have been violations of the ceasefire on both sides."Tell us the figures then. "Israel has carried out daily strikes on what it says are terror operatives in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, the death toll since the October ceasefire stands at nearly 600 and includes scores of women and children." (Times of Israel yesterday)."Based on satellite image analysis as of January 2026, the IDF has been moving the "yellow line"—concrete blocks marking their post-ceasefire tactical line of control—further into the Gaza Strip, rather than keeping it static. These markers have been moved deeper into Gaza in at least 16 positions, extending over 295 meters (968 feet) further west on average, which increases the area under Israeli military control and forces civilians into smaller areas." (AI)Is that a ceasefire?Can you see what they are doing yet?

David Ainsworth ● 20d

And you talk about "infantile needs". Physician, heal thyself.

David Ainsworth ● 20d

Let’s cut out the sanctimonious sermonising from the moral high ground. There have been violations of the ceasefire on both sides.

Steven Rose ● 20d

My point ,as you well know, was that Phillipas infantile need to write it numerically and grammatically does not make the number any smaller or any bigger.

Andy Pike ● 20d

"Death is not a subject that anyone should get pleasure in"In which case you might like to think about your mickey-taking response to Philippa Bond's posting about the hundreds of killings by the IDF in Gaza SINCE the ceasefire.

David Ainsworth ● 20d

Why would it please me ? Making assumptions again.Death is not a subject that anyone should get pleasure in

Andy Pike ● 20d

This one'll really please you Mr Pike:-"Two Palestinians on bicycles were killed in an Israeli drone strike on Tuesday, hospital officials said, marking the latest deaths since an October ceasefire that hasn't halted deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip."

David Ainsworth ● 20d

PhillipaSo clever being able to do numbers AND words. You have caught my 6 year old grandaughter. Well done

Andy Pike ● 20d

"As of late 2025,80% to over 90% of buildings in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated destruction in the region of 84%, with figures rising to 92% in areas like Gaza City. This destruction includes over 436,000 homes, schools, and critical infrastructure. Key details regarding the destruction in Gaza:Residential Impact: Nearly 92% of residential buildings have been damaged or destroyed.Total Structures: Approximately 70% to 80% of all structures across the enclave are ruined, with 92% of schools also impacted.Rubble & Debris: The damage has created over 60 million tonnes of debris, which is expected to take over 15 years to clear.Regional Impact: Damage is particularly high in the north and in Khan Younis.Infrastructure: Extensive damage to water, electricity, and health care systems has rendered most of the territory uninhabitable." (AI)Aerial video shows destruction in the Gaza Strip:-Associated Presshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFUkfmnCR7UJust a suspicion there of ethnic cleansing. Forgive me.

David Ainsworth ● 21d

https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/gaza-civilian-killings-continue-after-ceasefire-enar477 - That's four hundred and seventy-seven killed since "the ceasefire"...and then there's the bulldozing of compounds elsewhere:https://www.unrwa.org/resources/reports/unrwa-situation-report-205-situation-gaza-strip-and-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem

Philippa Bond ● 21d

The modern Israeli government and mainstream Israeli society do not see the pre-independence Zionist underground groups such as the Haganah, Irgun (Etzel), and Lehi (the Stern Gang) as terrorists. They are officially commemorated and revered as freedom fighters and founders of the State of Israel. While these groups were classified as terrorist organizations by the British Mandatory authorities, the United Nations, and some Jewish leaders at the time, this is not part of the official Israeli national narrative. Many leaders of these groups, of course, later became prominent Israeli politicians, including Prime Ministers Menachem Begin (Irgun) and Yitzhak Shamir (Lehi).

David Ainsworth ● 21d

Perhaps I can help out here. Walid Saadaoui  planned to smuggle 4 AK-47 assault rifles, 2 handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition into the UK and, with Amar Hussein, aimed to kill as many Jews in Manchester as they could. That is clearly terrorism. On the orher hand, groups of pensioners, including clergy and war veterans, being arrested by police for holding up cardboard placards with a message the government did not like, are just as clearly not terrorists. The Home Office played a disgraceful role in this farce, suggesting at one point that PA was being funded by Iran (it wasn't), and then by grouping PA with two neo-Nazi groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russian Imperial Movement, in the same banning order. Actually the government, and especially Yvette Cooper, emerge from this ridiculous debacle looking like fools, as do those supporting them.

Richard Carter ● 21d

"placards falsely accusing Israel of genocide".Would you prefer the placards to call it ethnic cleansing?

David Ainsworth ● 21d

proscribing

Steven Rose ● 21d

To be precise, the High Court decided that while some individuals from Palestine Action had engaged in terrorism, boy enough of them were terrorists to prescribe prescribing the organisation. Personally I don't think there is any point prosecuting a bunch of middle class twerps who think they can signal their virtue by holding up anti-Semitic placards falsely accusing Israel of genocide.

Steven Rose ● 21d

Some common sense has prevailed, at last. For God sake, wasting hundreds of policemen's time, arresting hundreds of largely elderly protesters, for holding up signs, was beyond ridiculous.Hopefully, this pathetic gesture ends here and more time is not wasted by courts processing cases that juries are not going to find guilty.Overall, an embarrassing episode for Yvette Cooper and this government.

Gerry Boyce ● 21d

Richard, yes it is welcome news indeed. Particularly as around 2,200 people have been arrested by the police for holding up signs supporting PA. A complete disgrace. At least I see that while the High Court’s decision is considered by the government — who probably will mount an appeal — no further protesters will be arrested. But collecting their details is quite unwarranted. And Keir Starmer and his Home Secretary wonder why they are disliked? Nick

Nicholas Evans ● 21d

Mr Carter'How delightful that the High Court has decided that the government's silly proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist group was unlawful!''How delightful' - what a peculiar turn of phrase. What 'delight' did you receive from this decision ?That Jew haters have received some sort of reprieve and the Jews have had a proverbial 'poke in the eye' ?Perhaps Palestine Action is not a 'terrorist group' like Hamas and other such like Palestinian murderers who have killed Jews world wide and British citizens on our own streets.They are just an anti-Israeli group of bourgeois white privileged antisemites I would suspect.I wonder how many live in leafy West Putney and choose not to live in or travel to Gaza or the West Bank in order to attempt to put these failed states on the road to democracy and a thriving economy as is to be seen in Israel ?Read this and learn.https://www.spiked-online.com/2026/02/05/the-tyranny-of-palestinianism/

John Hawkes ● 21d