Rooney has pledged her support for Palestine Action saying, “If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it.”
Irish author Sally Rooney faces the possibility of withdrawing her books from the UK over her support for the Palestine Action advocacy group that has been banned under terrorism laws.
In July, the British government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000 after the group’s activists spray-painted military aircraft at a Royal Air Force base.
Best-selling Irish author Sally Rooney has told the high court that the proscription of Palestine Action under terror laws means she is unlikely to be able to publish new novels in the UK and may have to withdraw her current books from sale.
The ban on Palestine Action as a… pic.twitter.com/H0E9DeNMb4
— Novara Media (@novaramedia) November 28, 2025
In a statement to the High Court this week, Rooney reportedly said Palestine Action’s activity in the UK was from a “long and proud tradition of civil disobedience – the deliberate breaking of laws as an act of protest”.
She added: “I myself have publicly advocated the use of direct action, including property sabotage, in the cause of climate justice. It stands to reason that I should support the same range of tactics in the effort to prevent genocide.”
‘Supporter of Terror’
Established in July 2020, the UK-based Palestine Action describes itself as “a direct action movement committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime.” The organization uses “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers of the Israeli military-industrial complex and seeks to make it impossible for these companies to profit from the oppression of Palestinians.”
Rooney reportedly said the terrorism laws could affect the royalties paid to her by her British publisher or the BBC, as it could leave both accused of funding terrorism.
Sally Rooney won the Sky Arts award for literature for Intermezzo. Her editor collected it for her as she couldn’t travel in case of arrest for her support for Palestine Action.
“to reiterate…. and my solidarity with the people of Palestine.” We are proud of her always. #BDS pic.twitter.com/nh1ZBt7DM0— IPSC (@ipsc48) September 19, 2025
In response to Palestine Action’s ban, Rooney said she would continue donating residual payments from BBC adaptations of her novels to support the movement.
“I too support Palestine Action. If this makes me a ‘supporter of terror’ under UK law, so be it,” Rooney had written in the Irish Times in August, the Anadolu news agency reported.
She also wrote that, “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.”
Legal Ramifications
Rooney reportedly said that following her statement, she had been advised that any payment to her for the BBC’s televised dramatisations of her work could amount to a breach of terrorism laws.
The best-selling author noted that if her publisher was “legally prohibited from paying me the royalties I am owed, my existing works may have to be withdrawn from sale.”
She said the disappearance of her work “from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression.”
“It is also almost certain that I can no longer publish or produce any new work within the UK while this proscription remains in effect,” Rooney reportedly stated.
‘Being Wrongly Criminalized’
Meanwhile, the Guardian reported this week that a member of the Home Office’s homeland security group has warned that the anti-terrorism Prevent programme “risks being overwhelmed because of the government’s ban on Palestine Action and could lead to people being wrongly criminalized.”
The report cited the official as saying that there “was already confusion” among counter-terrorism police and officials, as well as in schools and hospitals over the proscription of Palestine Action. This, the report stated, entails being a member of, or showing support for the group, a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act.
A legal challenge to the proscription of Palestine Action began this week.
Amnesty’s Warning
Amnesty International UK has argued that the ban was a “disproportionate misuse” of counter-terrorism powers, Anadolu reported.
Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s director of campaigns and communications, said in a statement that the “proscription of Palestine Action was an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers and should never have happened.”
BREAKING: Judicial Review on the proscription of Palestine Action in court today.
The proscription was an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers and a breach of human rights.
Amnesty and @libertyhq are intervening in the case.
The consequences of the proscription… pic.twitter.com/04Rjbh1XRP
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) November 26, 2025
“The UK has a deeply flawed and overly broad definition of terrorism which human rights monitors including Amnesty International have been warning about for years. Palestine Action’s proscription only serves to highlight that those warnings were justified,” Moscogiuri stated.
The director stressed that the consequences of the proscription decision “have been chilling.”
“Over the past four months, organizations have been silenced and thousands of people have been arrested for sitting peacefully with placards saying they support Palestine Action,” he said.
Nearly 900 Arrested in London Protest against Genocide, Palestine Action Ban
Moscogiuri said the government “must wake up and realize that the world is watching, and that people are extremely disturbed by the erosion of protest rights in the UK.”
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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