Whether one agrees with the proscription or not, Palestine Action is a banned organisation. That is a legal fact, not a matter of personal opinion. Once a group is proscribed, the authorities treat open support for it in much the same way as they would with any other outlawed body.
This is why the sight of demonstrators holding placards and signs reading “I support Palestine Action” raises a simple question: what did they expect would happen?
The law around proscribed organisations is clear. Expressing support for them, displaying their symbols, or promoting them in public can lead to arrest and prosecution. Activists may argue that their cause is just, or that the ban is politically motivated. They may well see themselves as engaging in civil resistance. But legality and legitimacy are not the same thing. You can think an action is morally justified, yet still face the legal consequences of carrying it out.
It is also worth pointing out that Palestine Action has pursued a deliberately confrontational strategy—targeting companies linked to the arms trade and staging disruptive direct actions. Their intent has always been to provoke, to draw attention, and to force the issue onto the political agenda. With that approach comes the certainty of state pushback.
Those who take to the streets in support of them cannot be under any illusions. To carry a placard declaring support for a proscribed group is, in effect, to paint a target on your own back. Whether one believes the proscription is heavy-handed or entirely justified is a debate worth having. But the immediate reality is unavoidable: when the law says an organisation is banned, to openly support it is to invite arrest.
Ultimately, this is a clash between principle and pragmatism. On principle, some protesters will always choose defiance, seeing their arrests as part of the struggle. Pragmatically, though, no one should be surprised when the police act in line with the law.
@newdaystarts
