LONDON: Four pro-Palestinian activists have been charged after breaking into a military air base in central England last month and damaging two planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.

Counter-terrorism pol­ice said the charges were for conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.

The four, aged between 22 and 35, remain in custody and are due to appear in a London court on Thursday. Police said they will present evidence to court linking the offences to terrorism.

The campaign group Palestine Action has said it was behind the incident on June 20, when the air base in Oxfordshire in central England was broken into and red paint was sprayed over two planes used for refuelling and transport.

British lawmakers voted on Wednesday to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. The group has condemned the decision as an “abuse of power” and announced plans to challenge it in court.

The police statement said those charged had caused 7 million pounds ($9.55 million) worth of damage to the two aircraft at the Brize Norton Royal Air Force base. Palestine Action has routinely targeted companies in Britain with links to Israel, including Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.

The group has condemned the move as an “unhinged reaction” and is challenging its planned proscription, which the government said could come by the end of the week.

Counter-terror police on Wednesday charged the four suspects with “conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom, and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.” Prosecutors will argue the offences were terror-linked.

Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, Jony Cink, 24, and Lewie Chiaramello, 22, appeared at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

They were remanded in custody until their next appearance at London’s Old Bailey criminal court on July 18.

A 41-year-old woman who was arrested “on suspicion of assisting an offender” has been released on bail.

The proposed ban on Palestine Action would make it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Announcing the clamp-down, interior minister Yvette Cooper listed other attacks by Palestine Action at the Thales defence factory in Glasgow

in 2022, and two last year against Instro Precision in Kent, southeast England, and Israel-based Elbit Systems in Bristol, in the country’s southwest.

An urgent hearing to challenge the proscription will be held at the High Court in London on Friday.

The challenge was backed by Amnesty International and other rights groups.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2025