Yvette Cooper seems more scared of red paint than Gaza’s bloodshed

As of yesterday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has confirmed her plans for Palestine Action to be proscribed as a terror organisation – putting it on par with the likes of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Boko Haram.

Yes, you heard that right. 

Two years into what the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has deemed to be a ‘plausible’ genocide enacted by Israel against the people of Gaza, it is not the perpetrators of these unconscionable war crimes that the Government wants to label terrorists, but those protesting against it. 

If the draft order before Parliament next week is passed, being a member or supporting the group can earn you a prison sentence of up to 14 years and/or a fine of up to £5,000. 

For perspective, being a member of the English Defence League (EDL) or Britain First is not currently illegal.

This egregious manipulation of what is considered terrorism was catapulted after Palestine Action activists broke into RAF Brize Norton and sprayed two military planes with red paint last Friday.

A spokesperson for Palestine Action said that the site was targeted due to the British Government’s continued military support for Israel, including sending spy planes over Gaza. 

Let’s not forget, we are currently seeing scenes of Israeli soldiers shooting Gazans as they queue for food – all in the midst of mass starvation and a ban on aid entering Gaza. 

The need to hold our government to account for its complicity has never been greater.

So, it feels dystopian in the extreme to find ourselves in a position where a bit of vandalism is enough to get you smeared a terrorist. And it strikes me that it is more about silencing the cause behind Palestine Action than the damage to the planes itself.

In her speech, Yvette Cooper said that last Friday’s direct action was ‘the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action’ and she has cited other incidents of violence and public disorder in her decision to proscribe the group.

But what does it say about our political class that they had more to say about this than war crimes happening in real time? Labelling Palestine Action a terror group derails all valid support for Palestine, stigmatising it as extreme, anti-British and a threat to national security.

We have already seen the wider pro-Palestine movement criminalised and vilified in a variety of ways. 

Those of us who display visible signs of solidarity for Palestine, such as wearing keffiyehs or Palestine flag badges in public, have already faced instances of abuse. Friends of mine have been verbally assaulted on the Tube for expressing their support publicly. 

People have been deemed antisemitic and even lost their careers over displaying watermelons (a symbol representing the Palestinian flag due to its similar colours) at work.

Peaceful protests calling for a ceasefire have been tarnished as ‘hate marches’ by politicians, accused of rendering central London a ‘no go zone for Jews’ despite rallies being full of people from all backgrounds – including Orthodox Jewish groups.

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The Government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action signifies a frightening climate in which any legitimate criticism of Israel is deemed terrorism. 

It creates a binary in the public imagination in which Palestine equals terrorism and Israel equals civilised, acceptable, and good. This is despite, in my opinion, the state of Israel starving and displacing an entire population as we speak.

This feels like an Orwellian move in which anyone who doesn’t consent to a genocide in real time is pushed to the extremities of what is considered acceptable in British society. And my fear is that this will impact visible Muslims more than anyone. 

Islamophobia already rose by 73% as Israel’s attacks on Gaza escalated throughout 2024. I have felt more unsafe being out in public in the last few months than I have in my entire life.

Broadening the definition of terrorism to include Palestine Action feels like a back door opening to allow all support of Palestine to become a signifier of extremism – and by default legitimising islamophobia as valid in the interest of public safety.

Now I believe we risk an utterly preposterous situation in which anything in support of Palestine, whether that’s charity, peaceful demonstration, or boycotting complicit institutions can be seen as terrorism – or support of terrorism – by extension. 

To me, this seems like the Government trying to scare any supporters of Palestine into quiet defeat.

Even though the Home Secretary said that this decision is ‘specific to Palestine Action and does not affect lawful protest groups and other organisations campaigning on issues around Palestine or the Middle East’, the damage has been done. 

The glaring irony in this planned proscribing is that direct action has always been a means used by groups to bring their causes to the public consciousness. 

Why wasn’t Extinction Rebellion proscribed as terrorists after their many instances of vandalising public buildings? And if it was about violence, then how come even after ‘Britain First’ was shouted as MP Jo Cox was murdered on the streets of Britain, it isn’t considered terrorism?

Why do we teach children about the Suffragettes, painting their methods as valiant and necessary, whilst criminalising those engaged in similar direct action today?

We have to be honest with what we are looking at here.

This isn’t about a bit of red paint on some RAF planes. This is about a complicit government silencing dissent and using the law to label those on the right side of history as terrorists. 

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