Former Pink Floyd bassist and cofounder Roger Waters on stage in Italy. Photo: Reuters/Mirko Fava

An organization of lawyers who support Israel in the United Kingdom has reported former Pink Floyd bassist and cofounder Roger Waters to counterterrorism police in the UK for expressing support for the newly proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action, it was announced on Sunday.

The ban against Palestine Action went into effect on Saturday, after a judge denied a request to delay the UK government from proscribing it as a terror group. Palestine Action uses direct action, mainly targeting Israeli arms companies since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Under the UK’s Terrorism Act 2000, being a member of or expressing support for the group is now a criminal offense that could lead to up to 14 years in prison.

On Saturday night, Waters, 81, posted a video on social media of himself saying he supports Palestine Action “and I always will because that is the right thing to do.” He claimed Palestine Action is a “great organization” that is non-violent in every way, and also displayed a handwritten sign that accused the UK Parliament of being “corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power.”

Waters has been a longtime critic of Israel and supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. He has also defended the US-designated terrorist organization Hamas for orchestrating the deadly massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has alleged that Waters is in breach of the Terrorism Act 2000 for expressing support for Palestine Action on Saturday. The pro-Israel organization noted that even if the musician was outside the UK when he posted the video, rules of the Terrorist Act still apply to him as a British citizen in accordance with section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

“Palestine Action have been anything but a non-violent organization, using sledgehammers to smash windows and machinery, and causing millions of pounds of damage over the past few years in order to intimidate the public and certain companies, and to advance their own ideological cause,” UKLFI Director Caroline Turner said in a released statement. “Their activities fell squarely within the definition of Terrorism under the Act. We hope that the police will act in this case and investigate [Waters’] ill-judged words and actions.”

The UK government moved to ban Palestine Action after the group claimed responsibility for an estimated £7 million ($8.2 million) worth of damage that was caused to planes last month at the Royal Air Force Brize Norton air station in Oxfordshire. British Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the move to proscribe Palestine Action after the incident and called damage to two military aircraft “disgraceful.” Cooper claimed Palestine Action had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage.”

On Saturday, Metropolitan Police arrested 29 people for protesting in London’s Parliament Square in support of the banned group. Police said the arrested individuals were being held on suspicion of criminal offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the BBC.

Palestine Action is reportedly the first direct action protest group to be banned under the Terrorism Act. Other organizations banned in the UK include al Qaeda, Islamic State (ISIS), Hezbollah and the far-right group National Action. Palestine Action cofounder Huda Ammori will seek permission for a judicial review to call off the ban during a hearing scheduled for July 21.