A High Court judge in London on Friday dismissed a legal challenge aimed at preventing the British government's ban of the Palestine Action campaign group under anti-terrorism legislation, AFP reported.
The proscription, set to take effect at midnight Friday, received parliamentary approval on Thursday.
The government announced its intention to ban Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 last week, following an incident where activists from the group breached an air force base in southern England. During the incident, two aircraft were defaced with red paint, resulting in an estimated £7 million in damages.
Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, had sought a temporary injunction from the High Court to block the government from designating the group as a terrorist organization, ahead of a potential broader legal challenge to the decision.
However, Judge Martin Chamberlain rejected the application, noting that the assessment to ban the group had been made as early as March, predating the air base break-in.
Meanwhile, four Palestine Action activists were remanded in custody on Thursday after appearing in court. Counter-terrorism police had charged the four suspects with "conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage." Prosecutors are expected to argue that these offenses were terror-linked.
Palestine Action has previously targeted British companies with links to Israel, notably including the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.
The group also previously defaced a painting of Lord Balfour at Trinity College Cambridge, spraying the portrait with red paint and slashing it.
In another incident, Palestine Action members stole two busts of Israel’s first President, Chaim Weizmann, from a glass cabinet at Manchester University.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)