UK lawmakers voted Wednesday to ban Palestine Action, a UK-based group that aims to disrupt the operations of weapons manufacturers supplying the Israeli government.
Members of Parliament voted 382 to 26 in favor of the measure against the group after two Palestine Action activists broke into Britain’s largest air base in central England, damaging two military aircraft.
The draft proscription order will reach the House of Lords on Thursday. If approved by the upper house, the ban would go into effect in the following days.
A full ban would mean that it would be illegal under UK law to be a member of – or invite support for – Palestine Action. It would put the group on par with terrorist organizations such as Hamas, al Qaeda and ISIS – sparking condemnation from United Nations experts, human rights groups, and politicians.
British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the government’s intention to proscribe the group on June 23, after two Palestine Action activists sprayed red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers.