Advisers told ministers banning Palestine Action could make it more popular

4 hours ago7 min read

In a political maneuver that defied internal warnings, ministers plunged ahead with banning Palestine Action despite explicit cautions from their own advisers that proscription could backfire spectacularly—potentially amplifying the group's profile and inflaming communal tensions. The official briefing paper, drafted three months prior to the decisive crackdown, served as a stark risk assessment, outlining a clear strategic dilemma: while the government sought to dismantle the organization known for its direct action campaigns targeting UK arms supplies to Israel, the act of prohibition itself risked granting the group a martyr's halo, inadvertently boosting its visibility and recruitment appeal.This internal dissent reveals a calculated gamble at the highest levels of power, where the perceived necessity of a hardline stance against disruptive activism appears to have outweighed concerns of a public relations backlash and the potential for heightened friction between Muslim and Jewish communities, a consideration the advisers flagged as a significant collateral danger. The decision places the UK government in a delicate position, navigating the treacherous waters of proscription policy where past precedents, from certain far-right organizations to historical Irish groups, demonstrate that banning can sometimes forge a more potent, underground mythos rather than eliminate a threat.Critics are already framing this as a politically charged move, aligning the state more overtly with Israeli interests at a time of intense global scrutiny, a perception the advisory note explicitly warned against, suggesting it could be seen as taking sides in a deeply polarized international conflict. The underlying tension here pits the state's imperative to maintain order and protect economic interests, including a defence industry with ties to Israel, against fundamental principles of protest and assembly, raising profound questions about the boundaries of legitimate dissent in a modern democracy. As Palestine Action vows to continue its operations, potentially morphing its tactics in response to the ban, the government's gamble will be tested on the ground—will this legal hammer crush the movement, or will it, as foreseen by the very experts whose counsel was sidelined, ultimately forge a more resilient and symbolically powerful adversary?.

#lead focus news

#Palestine Action

#UK government

#proscription

#protest groups

#arms trade

#Israel

#political activism

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