Key facts
- A crowdfunder for Palestine Action's UK Supreme Court challenge was blocked by CrowdJustice.
- The block is due to US sanctions against Palestine Action, enforced via payment processor Stripe.
- Stripe stated it cannot support accounts or transactions linked to Palestine Action, including for legal proceedings.
- US sanctions were imposed on Palestine Action last month.
- Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori stated the group is unable to fundraise for legal fees.
- The Home Office has spent £700,000 defending the ban on Palestine Action.
A crowdfunder aimed at raising money for Palestine Action's legal challenge to its proscription in the UK has been blocked due to US sanctions against the group. CrowdJustice, a UK-based platform, refused to host the fundraiser because its payment processor, Stripe, is subject to US sanctions that prohibit supporting entities like Palestine Action, even for legal defense.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori stated that reliance on US services like Stripe prevents them from raising necessary legal fees for their Supreme Court challenge. She criticized the government for spending millions on legal costs to defend the ban, which has led to over 3,700 arrests for alleged support of a proscribed organization. Ammori asserted that the British government and the US are obstructing their ability to fight the ban legally.
According to the Independent, the Home Office has already spent £700,000 defending the proscription in the high court. The case has progressed through the court of appeal, which overturned a previous high court decision deeming the ban unlawful, and is now heading to the UK's highest court in November.
Last June, when the ban was announced, a previous CrowdJustice fundraiser for Palestine Action's high court challenge successfully raised over £300,000 within days. Ammori suggested this situation reflects a coordinated effort against citizens acting on their conscience, arguing that Palestine Action faces harsher sanctions than Israel. She emphasized the importance of the Supreme Court case for free speech in Britain and for the people of Palestine, noting that success could lead to the quashing of prosecutions against protesters.
Separately, former British diplomat Craig Murray, who is challenging the ban's legality in Scotland, also had his CrowdJustice fundraiser for legal fees removed after the US designated Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. Murray described the situation as "disgraceful," highlighting how draconian legislation combined with efforts to cripple legal defense adds "injustice to injustice."