What is Palestine Action? Sally Rooney Books to No Longer Be Sold in U.K. Over Ties to Group

“Current legislation in the U.K. has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass on U.K. earnings to Sally Rooney for her work. To sell a writer’s work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher,” Faber said.

The news has inflamed debate over the British government’s unprecedented decision to use terrorism powers to ban a group primarily known for property damage and disruption. The group describes its aim as halting the supply of weapons to Israel and ending what it describes as British complicity in Israel’s “genocide” of Palestinians.

More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel and resulted in 251 others taken hostage. In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the Gaza Health Ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME. Data from the Israel Defense Forces as of May 2025 suggested a Palestinian civilian death rate of 83%.

Rooney has long expressed her support for the group, and called the British proscription “a truly extreme assault on ordinary rights and freedoms.”

Here’s what to know about the group and how the British government’s ban affects Rooney.

What is Palestine Action?

Palestine Action is a pro-Palestinian group based in the U.K. that describes itself as a “direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.” The group has targeted facilities linked to Israeli weapons manufacturing or supplies.

“Every moment we can disrupt them is a victory, as halting production at one site interrupts their whole supply chain and has a knock on effect to other factories. If one action stops one weapon from killing a Palestinian, then it’s all worth it,” the group’s website reads.

Since its founding in 2020, members of Palestine Action have repeatedly damaged U.K. facilities linked to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Elbit Systems U.K. denied claims that its facilities supplied the Israeli military.

In June 2025, Palestine Action members broke into R.A.F. Brize Norton, the U.K.’s largest air force base, and spray painted two aircraft.

The British government banned the group in July 2025, proscribing it as a terrorist organization. It was the first British proscription primarily based on property damage, rather than threat or use of violence against people, although the government said the group’s members have demonstrated “a willingness to use violence.”

The group’s leaders have said it does not advocate or use violence against people.

“In several attacks, Palestine Action has committed acts of serious damage to property with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the Government,” then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said in announcing the proscription.

The ban has faced a series of legal challenges. In February, the High Court ruled it unlawful and disproportionate, but the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling in June. The ban remains in force, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear a further appeal early next month.

How does the ban affect Rooney and others?

Since the ban, more than 3,000 people have been arrested for expressing support for the group at demonstrations. Among these were protesters holding signs with the words, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”

The ban and ensuing arrests prompted debate over free speech and the use of counterterrorism laws against political protest. The U.K. protects freedom of expression under the Human Rights Act, but permits broader restrictions than the U.S. First Amendment, including on national security and public order grounds. Inviting or expressing support for a proscribed organization, even without inciting violence, can be a criminal offence in the U.K. Critics argued that criminalizing support for Palestine Action threatened peaceful dissent. The government, however, has maintained that the ban on the group does not prevent lawful protests in support of pro-Palestinian causes.

After the ban, Rooney pledged to donate money from her book sales to the group. In an August 2025 op-ed in the Irish Times, Rooney wrote, “I want to be clear that I intend to use these proceeds of my work, as well as my public platform generally, to go on supporting Palestine Action and direct action against genocide in whatever way I can.”

“To ensure that the British public is made aware of my position, I would happily publish this statement in a U.K. newspaper—but that would now be illegal,” the author added. “The present U.K. Government has willingly stripped its own citizens of basic rights and freedoms, including the right to express and read dissenting opinions, in order to protect its relationship with Israel.”

Providing financial support to organizations designated under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act is a criminal offense. In a statement circulated by her agent, Rooney said “the fulfilment of contracts to publish my work in the U.K. could now constitute a serious criminal offence. After a process of consultation and deliberation, and with my full agreement, my publisher Faber has therefore determined that it can no longer supply my work within the U.K.”