UK government says it will ban pro-Palestinian group after activists broke into military base

1 of 5 |

Demonstrators shout and gesture toward a police line during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

2 of 5 |

Demonstrators hold up a banner during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

3 of 5 |

Demonstrators pass aline of police during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

4 of 5 |

A demonstrator lies on the ground in front of a police line during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

5 of 5 |

Police and demonstrators confront each other during a protest by Palestine Action group in London, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government said Monday it will ban the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws after the group’s members broke into a military base and vandalized two planes last week.

The measure means it will be a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

It came as protesters in support of Palestine Action clashed with police during a demonstration in central London.

Officials said two of the group’s members entered the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton on Wednesday and damaged two planes with red paint. The group released video footage appearing to show one of the activists spraying the paint into a jet’s turbine engines.

The group alleged that Britain was continuing to “send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel U.S./Israeli fighter jets,” and condemned the country as “an active participant in the Gaza genocide and war crimes across the Middle East.”

The base incident was being investigated by counter-terror police.

Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley described Palestine Action as an “organized extremist criminal group,” while Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the protest at the airbase was the latest in the group’s “long history of unacceptable criminal damage.”

Parse.ly - related stories

Ray Woodfork, a graduate of Twinning Project's collaboration with the NBA's Golden State Warriors and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's cohort 1, shoots a basket at Solano State Prison in Vacaville, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Golden State Warriors help transform lives of incarcerated men through coaching program

Medical workers help a woman in the yard of an apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russian attacks on Ukraine kill at least 14 people as Zelenskyy travels to UK

Syrian citizens and security forces inspect the damage inside Mar Elias church where a suicide bomber detonated himself in Dweil'a in the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Sunday June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

Suicide bomber kills at least 22 in Greek Orthodox church in Syria during Divine Liturgy

She said the group’s recent actions, including an attack against a defense factory in Glasgow in 2022, have resulted in damage that runs into millions of pounds.

In March, Palestine Action targeted one of U.S. President Donald Trump’s golf resorts in Scotland, painting “Gaza is Not For Sale” in giant letters on the lawn in response to his proposal to empty the Gaza Strip of its Palestinian population.

The government said a draft order will be laid in Parliament next week. Lawmakers still need to approve it.

Britain’s government has proscribed about 80 organizations, including Hamas and al-Qaida, and far-right groups such as National Action.