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LONDON: The British government’s decision to ban the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action under terrorism laws is facing scrutiny after a secret intelligence assessment found most of the group’s activity “would not be classified as terrorism,” .

The Labour government outlawed the group in July under the Terrorism Act, putting it on the same footing as around 80 other organizations, including Al-Qaeda and Daesh.

The move criminalized membership, support and financing of the group, and hundreds of protesters have since been arrested for showing solidarity.

Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis defended the designation, citing “clear advice and intelligence” after what he called an “escalating campaign involving intimidation and sustained criminal damage.”

Palestine Action, founded in 2020, has carried out break-ins and vandalism at facilities linked to Israel’s weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, and in June activists damaged aircraft during a raid on Britain’s largest air base.

But a declassified March 7 report seen by the NYT, from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre which is part of MI5, painted a more cautious picture.

It noted that activists had caused serious damage, including one case where a protester attacked police officers with a sledgehammer. It also found the group’s underground manual encouraged sabotage.

However, it concluded “a majority of the group’s activity would not constitute an act of terrorism,” with common tactics being graffiti, sit-ins, and minor vandalism. The assessment also said it doubted the group would encourage attacks on people, something typical of other proscribed groups.

The report identified three incidents that could meet the terrorism threshold, all involving property damage at Elbit-linked sites.

One, a high-profile break-in at a Glasgow factory, was later prosecuted only as a “breach of the peace.” Scottish police records cited by The Times newspaper said the activity “has not been close to meeting the statutory definition of terrorism.”

Former officials and legal experts say the case highlighted how broadly terrorism laws were now being applied.

Alan Greene of Birmingham Law School told the NYT the Palestine Action ban “marks a radical departure from what came before” by relying on property destruction rather than threats to life.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged Britain to reverse the measure, warning it expanded terrorism “beyond clear boundaries.”

Home secretary Yvette Cooper, who advanced the ban, told Parliament the Glasgow raid had caused more than £1 million ($1.35 million) in damage to submarine parts, though court evidence put the figure at about £190,000 with the remainder attributed to lost revenue.

British politicians were also forced to vote on Palestine Action’s designation alongside two violent white-supremacist groups, which critics said made opposing the measure politically unfeasible.

Palestine Action formally dissolved after the ban, but supporters continue to campaign against its proscription, which the group is challenging in London’s High Court, with a hearing set for September 25.

The report’s findings were released as campaigners opposing the government’s decision to ban the group said they were preparing a week of demonstrations, beginning at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool later this month and ending with a mass rally in London’s Parliament Square on Oct. 4.

The protest wave was announced on Friday by Defend Our Juries, a group that has led opposition to the proscription, .

It comes a week after 857 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act outside Parliament, where demonstrators displayed signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Organizers described the next phase as a “major escalation” that would pose an “unprecedented challenge” for police, claiming more than 1,100 people have already pledged to risk arrest.

“The blame lies squarely with the government for pursuing this authoritarian ban, plunging an overstretched police force, courts and prisons into further chaos,” a spokesperson said. They urged Cooper to heed MPs, peers, UN experts and party members calling for the measure to be lifted.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was accused of “grotesque double standards” for meeting Israeli president Isaac Herzog this week while activists faced arrest for displaying cardboard placards. Organizers vowed to target Labour’s conference, beginning Sept. 28, in defiance.

Defend Our Juries has also encouraged nationwide acts of solidarity, asking supporters to place signs in their windows. The move followed a viral video of former Labour councillor Keith Hackett being told by police he could legally display a Palestine Action poster at home but not in public.

Since the ban came into force, more than 1,600 people have been arrested, including religious officials, doctors, veterans and elderly activists. The figure already exceeds arrests made in the UK during the entire post-2001 “War on Terror.” Most detainees have not been charged, though seven alleged organizers appeared in court last week.

The Trades Union Congress this week unanimously passed a motion demanding the ban’s repeal, calling it a “significant abuse of counterterrorist powers and a direct attack on our right to protest against the genocidal Israeli regime.”

HELSINKI: Prosecutors in Finland called for two-and-a-half year prison sentences for the captain and two senior officers of a ship suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables in 2024, as their trial ended Friday.
The three crew members of the Cook Islands-registered oil tanker Eagle S are accused of dragging the ship’s anchor on the seabed for around 90 kilometers (56 miles), damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland on December 25, 2024.
The Eagle S is believed to belong to Russia’s shadow fleet.
The three men have been charged with “aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications.”
During the trial, prosecutors argued the trio neglected their duties intentionally, after leaving the Russian port of Ust-Luga on Christmas Day.
“We ask for a minimum of two years and six months of unconditional imprisonment,” prosecutor Heidi Nummela told the Helsinki district court.
The suspects should have noticed and inspected the anchors when the tanker’s speed dropped, which “clearly indicated that the ship was dragging something,” prosecutor Krista Mannerhovi told AFP during a break in Friday’s proceedings.
The ship’s captain, Davit Vadatchkoria of Georgia, and senior officers Robert Egizaryan of Georgia and Santosh Kumar Chaurasia of India, have denied the charges.
They insisted the incident was an accident, and claimed the ship had slowed down due to an engine problem and rough weather conditions.
Vadatchkoria testified last week that there was no indication the anchor had fallen from the ship.
“There was no reason to doubt that it was not in order,” he told the court.
The EstLink 2 power cable and four telecommunications cables connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged in the incident.
The cuts threatened Finland’s energy supply and critical infrastructure, according to prosecutors.
Several undersea cables in the Baltic were damaged last year, with many experts calling it part of a “hybrid war” carried out by Russia against Western countries.
Moscow is accused of using its clandestine “shadow fleet” to dodge sanctions imposed by Western allies over Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The court on Friday revoked the suspects’ travel bans in place since December 2024, rejecting the prosecution’s request for an extension.
The verdict is expected October 3.