Grassroots group’s bank account frozen due to ‘Palestine Action investigation’ | Greater Manchester
A grassroots pro-Palestinian organization in the UK was said to have had its bank account frozen due to “an investigation into Palestine Action”, despite having no links to the direct action group.
Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine (GMFP), which organizes peaceful protests and vigils, has had access to funds indefinitely withheld by Virgin Money after Palestine Action was banned under the Terrorism Act and the account remained blocked.
The bank refused to tell GMFP why, but in a letter from Greater Manchester deputy mayor Kate Green to the organisation’s treasurer John Nicholson, it was stated that her office had been informed by Greater Manchester police (GMP) that “this account has been frozen as a result of an investigation into Palestine Action”.
Nicholson said: “The reality is that this is a bank account in the name of Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, which aims to provide funding to non-governmental organizations working on the ground in Palestine, supporting people suffering from hunger, displacement in Gaza, people experiencing settler violence in the West Bank. “No transactions have been made to or from the Palestine Movement in our bank account.
“Government – Shabana Mahmood [the home secretary] but Yvette Cooper [her predecessor] launched – He said there was nothing wrong with supporting Palestine, but everything was wrong with supporting Palestine Action. Our bank account did not and our membership did not support Palestine Action financially or otherwise. It is therefore an absolute abuse that the consequences of this ban spread so widely that the bank accounts of ordinary Palestinian support groups are closed.”
The 71-year-old Nicholson’s personal account, which he shared with his partner Norma Turner, 77, who is the chairman of GMFP, was also closed by Yorkshire Building Society without explanation in September.
GMFP’s listed activities include “letter writing, individual consumer boycott through cycling, information stands, leaflet distribution and our increased social media output”. It has held demonstrations in support of Palestine Action detainees, including on December 15, but is not affiliated with the group.
“I can confirm that my office was informed by GMP that ‘As a result of an investigation into Palestine Action we can safely say that this account has been frozen’,” Green said in a letter to Nicholson.
At the same time, the police force told Green’s office that it was not involved in freezing the account, raising the possibility that another law enforcement agency was handling the investigation. The National Crime Agency (NCA) refused to comment on the Guardian’s questions about the freezing of bank accounts. Counter-terrorism police did not respond.
Even before the reason for GMFP’s account being frozen was known, the fact of the blockage – and funds from the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign – was cited in the recent legal challenge to the Palestine Action ban as an example of “fear and uncertainty about the meaning and impact of the ban, including on wider campaigning around Palestine”.
Scottish PSC’s account at Unity Trust Bank, which bills itself as the bank of choice for “socially minded organisations”, was frozen on 24 June, the day after then home secretary Cooper announced plans to ban Palestine Action. After the Scottish PSC told the bank that the website had previously contained a payment link for donations to the Palestine Movement (before it was banned), the block on the account was removed before being reimposed two days later. Thousands of pounds are frozen out of reach.
Hussein Ezzedine, A union official from the Scottish PSC attended a meeting with Unity Trust Bank where he said he confirmed the blockage had been imposed by the NCA. “I think it’s important for people to be aware that we are peaceful activists and we are under attack from the highest criminal investigation agency in the country,” Ezzedine said. “This is outrageous.”
