Palestine Action sit-down protest planned this weekend

A 72-year-old genocide scholar from Powys is set to defy the UK Government's ban on Palestine Action this weekend, by holding a sit-down protest and displaying a banner in support of the group.

Mark Levene, 72, from New Radnor, will be defying the government ban on the group Palestine Action, this Saturday, in Presteigne, by holding a sign which will read : ‘I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action'.

Dr Levene’s action will be in solidarity with the many thousands of people who either are taking peaceful action in London, Cardiff, and around the country, this Saturday, or who have already done so in the last few months in support of Palestine Action.

On 2 July, the House of Commons voted 385–26 to proscribe Palestine Action alongside two other groups as terrorist organisations. The order was accepted by the House of Lords the following day and Palestine Action is proscribed from 5 July 2025.

The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation, despite supporters saying that its aims are to bring attention to, or non-violently halt British government complicity in the genocide in Gaza which continues in spite of the 9 October Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The aim of the current wave of peaceful protests, organised by the group Defend Our Juries, is in support of a Judicial Review to have the proscription on Palestine Action lifted. Even so, more than than 2000 people have been, or continue to be arrested under the 2000 Terrorism Act.

These include Mark, and several other Radnorshire campaigners, who were among the nearly 900 peaceful protesters arrested in Parliament Square, London,on September 6th. Some of this group from Radnor Palestine Links have also been arrested on previous, or subsequent occasions.

Mark is also bringing attention to the ongoing role of the company, Teledyne, which has a factory in Presteigne and has been granted export licences for components for Israeli F-35 fighter jets .

He has consequently written to the chief constable of Dyfed-Powys police to inform him of the protest, explaining his reasons for his action but also to assure him of its peaceful intent and lack of threat either to the police, or members of the public.

In his letter, Mark gives the following reasons for his action, writing: "As an internationally recognised genocide scholar, I concur with the assessment of the International Court of Justice that the Israel state is guilty of genocide in the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, on 7 October 2023. Its acts, thus, are in contravention of the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide and are liable to prosecution as such.

Atrocities

"As a Jew, I seek to uphold the most fundamental Jewish principle that life is precious and saving life is the most important thing any person can do. The stands in complete contrast to the atrocities committed by the Netanyahu government, even while it claims to speak on behalf of all Jewish people, myself included.

"As a British citizen, I protest against a British government which is providing support to British companies, or those operating in British soil which are making military components used by the Israeli Defence Forces in their genocidal war on Gaza. As a signatory to the UN Genocide Convention, HMG is duty-bound to stop the genocide in Gaza.

"As a resident of this patch of Radnorshire, I specifically protest the British government granting of extensive export licences to the US-owned, Teledyne Labtech, Presteigne, a military aerospace manufacturer which is known to have supplied a large and wide array of components to the Israeli Defence Forces, including components for F-35 fighter jets and has been crucially implicated in efforts to influence HMG in its Palestine Action proscription.

"For these reasons I feel I have no choice but to peacefully join with the thousands of others who believe that the proscription against Palestine Action is unlawful."

Mark's Palestine Action sit-down protest takes at 1pm on Saturday 29 November in Presteigne, at the steps in front of Assembly Rooms.