U.K. to Ban Palestine Action Group as Terrorist Organization

The British government said on Monday that it would ban as a terrorist group a pro-Palestinian organization that broke into a British air base and vandalized President Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland

Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, announced the move against the group, Palestine Action, three days after members damaged military planes using red paint at Britain’s largest air force base, at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, on Friday.

Ms. Cooper said that a legal order to ban the group would be submitted to Parliament on June 30. She said Palestine Action had “orchestrated a nationwide campaign of direct criminal action” against defense companies and other targets, putting Britain’s national security at risk. She also said that its activities met the legal definition of terrorism because they included “serious damage to property.”

Palestine Action will join more than 80 groups banned as terrorist organizations by the British government, including the Islamic State, Hamas and Al Qaeda, as well as Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group.

In a statement responding to the government’s announcement on Monday, Palestine Action called the ban “unhinged” and said it was “plainly preposterous” to list the group with terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.

A spokesperson for the group said that Ms. Cooper had made a number of “false claims” and added that its lawyers “are pursuing all avenues for legal challenge.”