Four activists from the Palestine Action group face the possibility of being sentenced under UK terrorism laws on March 7, even though a jury convicted them only on ordinary criminal charges. The group Palestine Action was officially designated a terrorist organization by the UK in July 2025.
Last month, four of six activists on trial were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in London of criminal damage for breaking into a factory owned by Israeli defense firm Elbit in Filton, Bristol, in 2024. One of them was also convicted of assaulting a police officer with a sledgehammer. The other two defendants were acquitted.
Under UK law, a judge can determine that an offense is ‘terrorism-related’ at the time of sentencing, even if the original charge was not terrorism. If this provision is applied, the activists would serve their full sentences in prison, eligible for parole only after serving at least two-thirds of the term and receiving permission from the parole board. They would also be labeled ‘terrorist offenders’ for life, required to notify police of any new mobile devices, email addresses, or bank accounts.
Palestine Action was founded in July 2020 with the aim of ending global involvement in what it calls Israel’s ‘genocide and apartheid regime.’ The group uses ‘disruption tactics’ targeting companies supplying weapons to Israel, including Elbit Systems, Italy’s Leonardo, France’s Thales, and US-based Teledyne.
More than 50 lawyers and law professors have published an open letter criticizing the plan to sentence the four Palestine Action members under terrorism laws. The letter stresses that criminal damage is ‘a common feature of protest campaigns, from the suffragette movement to the environmental group Extinction Rebellion. There has never been a precedent suggesting those actions deserve to be treated as terrorism. Blurring the line between principled direct action and terrorism is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes.’
A protest is expected outside Woolwich Crown Court on the sentencing day to oppose this potential ruling.
