Court of appeal upholds ban, sends case to supreme court in November

An online fundraiser to cover Palestine Action’s legal challenge to its UK proscription has been blocked because the crowdfunding platform’s US payment processor refuses to handle transactions linked to the group, the Guardian has learned.

CrowdJustice, a UK company, declined to host the fundraiser after Stripe confirmed in an email seen by the Guardian that it “cannot support accounts or transactions linked to, or for the benefit of, Palestine Action.” Stripe’s policy extends to “circumstances where funds are being raised for legal proceedings,” the email said.

The disclosure comes as the court of appeal overturned a high court decision that had found the ban on Palestine Action unlawful. The case will be heard by the supreme court in November.

Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action who brought the legal challenge, said the funding blockage left the group unable to cover its supreme court legal fees while the government continues to spend public money defending the ban. “Due to CrowdJustice’s and other platforms’ reliance on US services, we are unable to fundraise for legal fees needed for our supreme court challenge,” Ammori said. “On the other hand, the state continues to spend millions of pounds to cover their legal costs to defend the disproportionate and draconian ban, which has led to more than 3,700 arrests for holding signs.”

Ammori also characterized the sanctions regime in broader terms. “Clearly, the powerful have banded together against citizens acting on their conscience against the Israeli war machine and ethnic cleansing of Palestine,” she said. “It is extremely clear that Palestine Action faces harsher sanctions than Israel.”

The US sanctions on Palestine Action were imposed last month by President Donald Trump, using powers introduced by President George W Bush in 2001 shortly after the September 11 attacks. The UK government announced its intention to ban the group in June 2025, when then-home secretary Yvette Cooper said she would seek to proscribe it under UK law, placing it alongside the likes of Islamic State and Boko Haram.

A CrowdJustice fundraiser for the high court challenge that followed the UK’s ban raised more than £300,000 within days of its launch. The Home Office has spent £700,000 defending proscription in the high court, according to the Independent; the total amount spent by the government will be higher once the court of appeal proceedings are included.

Ammori framed the supreme court case as decisive for thousands of people who have been arrested under the ban. “The supreme court case is extremely important for our rights to free speech in Britain, but also for the people of Palestine,” she said. “If we are successful, all prosecutions of protesters who held signs will be rightfully quashed. If not, we will witness thousands of people facing jail for holding placards.”

Craig Murray, a former British diplomat who is separately challenging the legality of the ban in Scotland, had his own CrowdJustice fundraiser taken down after the US designated the group as a global terrorist organisation. “It’s really disgraceful,” Murray said. “Not only do you have draconian legislation with the proscription of Palestine Action affecting freedom of speech but you’ve then got moves to cripple our ability to fight it legally through the courts, which is just adding injustice to injustice.”

Stripe said it did not comment on individual users. CrowdJustice was also approached for comment.