UNITED NATIONS experts urged Britain not to misuse terrorism laws to proscribe Palestine Action, branding the plans the “unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’” ahead of an emergency protest outside Parliament tonight.

Hours after the non-violent activist group blockaded the entrance to an Israeli defence company’s British headquarters today, the UN-appointed human rights experts said: “According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.

“These offences would criminalise legitimate activities by innocent members of the group that do not contribute in any way to property damage by other members, let alone ‘terrorism’ which, if properly defined, the group has not committed.”

It comes as pro-Palestine and democracy activists were urged to defend the right to protest outside Parliament at 6pm on Wednesday, as MPs debate the government legislation to ban the campaign group under anti-terror law.

Amnesty UK’s CEO Sacha Deshmukh said that the motion would be a “grave misuse of anti-terrorism powers” in a letter to MPs and peers today.

The laws “have long been criticised by international experts for containing problematic, overly broad and draconian restrictions on free speech in relation to proscribed groups,” which would mean that “simple expressions of personal moral opinions” will potentially become “serious crimes,” he warned.

Thousands of members of civil society have also supported a letter by the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers opposing the proscription.

Voices including KCs, peers, MPs, trade unions and campaigners have warned against “conflating peaceful protest with the real dangers of genuine terrorism.”

It also accused the government of double standards by seeking to criminalise the group while being at risk of breaching international law regarding the genocide in Gaza.

Today, Palestine Action said that its activists blockaded the only entrance to Elbit Systems’s Bristol headquarters and covered it in red paint “to symbolise Palestinian bloodshed.”

The group also occupied the rooftop of the British subcontractor Guardtech Group in Suffolk.

The action comes as a draft order was laid before Parliament on Monday to amend the Terrorism Act 2000 to include Palestine Action as a proscribed organisation.

If approved, it would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison to be a member of the direct action group or to support it.

MPs and peers are expected to debate the legislation on Wednesday and Thursday, and if approved, the ban could come into force by Friday.

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “While the government is rushing through Parliament absurd legislation to proscribe Palestine Action, the real terrorism is being committed in Gaza.

“Palestine Action affirms that direct action is necessary in the face of Israel’s ongoing crimes against humanity of genocide, apartheid, and occupation, and to end British facilitation of those crimes.”

Palestine Action is seeking a legal challenge against the government’s bid to proscribe it, with a hearing expected on Friday to decide whether the ban can be temporarily blocked, pending further proceedings to decide whether a legal challenge can be brought.

Commenting on the proscription on Monday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest and the right to free speech are the cornerstone of our democracy and there are countless campaign groups that freely exercise those rights.

“Violence and serious criminal damage has no place in legitimate protests.”

Supporters of the Palestine movement have been urged to support Stop the War Coalition (StWC) vice chairman Chris Nineham and Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal ahead of their trials next week for alleged public order offences.

The StWC said the cases are “an attack on the millions of people who have taken part in peaceful and democratic mobilisations for Palestine over the past 21 months.”

A protest will be held outside City of London Magistrates Court on Monday morning.

Mr Nineham said: “This trial is an attack on the heart of the peaceful, democratic movement that has organised nearly 30 national demonstrations in London and countless other actions up and down the country since October 2023 to demand an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

“Thank you to the thousands of people who have made it clear that they stand with me and Ben and with everyone arrested on the 18 January peaceful protest. I’m looking forward to making my case in court. Our campaign to defend the right to protest is one we need to win.”

Mr Jamal: "This government has shown its authoritarian impulse with its disturbing plans to further limit our rights to protest.

“In seeking to proscribe Palestine Action the government attempts to conflate nonviolent direct action against an active genocide, with which they are complicit through arms exports, with terrorism.

“In seeking to give the police extra powers under the Crime and Policing Bill to restrict or ban protests 'in the vicinity' of places of worship, they attempt to conflate legitimate mass demonstrations against the Israeli genocide, which are never directed towards places of worship, with religious intolerance.

“Protests against genocide are not the problem in our society — it is the government’s complicity with genocide that poses a huge problem for them, and it will not be solved by trying to limit our democratic rights of protest.

“We urge everyone to show their opposition to the government’s plans by joining the demonstration outside Parliament.”