Advisers told ministers banning Palestine Action could make it more popular | Palestine Action

Ministers banned Palestine Action despite being told by advisers that it could “inadvertently boost” the group’s profile, according to an official government document.

The briefing was written three months before the group, which was set up to take direct action to stop British arms supplies to Israel, was banned.

It was prepared in March by officials from the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, with the help of counter-terrorism policing experts.

Its contents were obtained by the investigation website detail and shared with the Guardian.

Part of the document asks: “How would banning the organization be perceived by the British public?” Under the title, it was warned that the ban could be a divisive issue.

He described Palestine Action as “a small, single-issue group with less coverage in the mainstream media” than other direct action groups such as Just Stop Oil. However, he noted that the organization’s direct actions and the arrest of its activists attracted media attention.

The surveys show “increasing disillusionment with Israel’s military methods and actions in Gaza,” the advisers said.

Leading up to the main argument, the document cited a poll showing that 60 per cent of Britons believed Israel had gone too far in the war in Gaza, and a similar figure supported a ban on arms shipments.

“These are the locations where Israel forms the identity of PAG (Palestine Action Group), which is openly organized to resist the arms trade in the UK,” the statement said.

“If the PAG were to be banned, their profile could inadvertently grow and they could find support among like-minded members of the public opposed to the British footprint in the Israeli arms industry.”

Advisers said the public did not agree with right-wing media calls for drastic action such as banning.

Other parts of the document included surveys indicating a “general lack of awareness” among the public about Palestine Action.

The report stated that “the majority of the British public are likely to be currently unaware of Palestine Action and will remain so in the event of a ban, or remain largely indifferent if informed.”

The ban under terrorism laws led to public protests in which thousands of people were arrested for holding banners reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

The document, which is a social impact assessment, states that a ban under terrorism laws could increase Muslim-Jewish tensions and be perceived as a government bias in favor of Israel.

In the document, ministers and senior officials warned that the ban could be “a flashpoint for significant debate and criticism”.

Huda Ammori, one of the founding partners of Palestine Action, stated that the warnings in the document came true and said, “Awareness of the problems and the popularity of the group increased exponentially. The ban backfired.”

Then-home secretary Yvette Cooper announced the ban in June, shortly after activists from the group allegedly vandalized RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Authorities claimed that the damage was extensive.

The timing of the document suggests that it was considered long before the ban was announced.

Ministers were told the ban could be seen as an attack on civil liberties; Some within the government and the wider public may view the decision as “an infiltration of the arena of free expression and protest by terrorist forces”, advisers said.

A Home Office spokesman said: “Palestine Action has waged an escalating campaign of allegations of criminal damage, intimidation and violence against the UK’s national security infrastructure. This activity puts the safety and security of the public at risk.”

“Prohibition decisions are not taken lightly. They are informed by a robust, evidence-based process, with input from a wide range of experts from across the Government, police and Security Service.”

A counter-terrorism police spokesman said: “Decisions on bans are a matter for the government.

“As the public expected, the counter-terrorism police, along with a number of other institutions, regularly provide supplies to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist in their work.”

The document also revealed that the Cabinet Office had paid for monthly surveys on social tensions over Israel and Palestine.