Just weeks ago, British activist Huda Ammori was a part-time researcher investigating corporate power. The rest of her time was spent organising disruptive campaigns against an Israeli weapons manufacturer with UK offices and factories.
But when the British government chose to ban Palestine Action, the direct action group Ms Ammori co-founded, she was thrown into the spotlight as the new face of a debate about civil liberties in the UK.
More than 1,000 people are expected to demonstrate in support of the group in London on Saturday. The demonstrators each face arrest on terrorism charges and potential prison sentences of up to six months for expressing support for what is now a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Police issued a fresh warning on Monday against displays of support for Palestine Action as they announced a further 47 people, aged 19 to 78, had been charged after a protest on July 19.
It is not known whether Ms Ammori, who has openly encouraged the protests, will be there herself after she did not attend the first such organised post-proscription demonstration last month. But the movement is at the heart of the mobilisation against Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's clamp down on Palestine focused protests.
Before the terrorist ban came into effect in July, Ms Ammori had spent the past five years organising break-ins and blockades to the UK premises of military suppliers, including Elbit Systems, which makes drones and fighting vehicles that have been used in Gaza and the occupied West Bank by the Israeli military.
Now, she is fighting the UK government’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action at the High Court. She argues that her group's demonstrations are non-violent, intended to protect Palestinians from ethnic cleansing by Israel.
"Spraying paint on planes is 'terrorism'. Committing genocide makes you an ally," she wrote on social media this month, in a critique of the ban. Online, she describes her cause as "fighting the British government over the proscription of Palestine Action".
Ms Cooper has promoted the ban, arguing the group did not represent “lawful protest” but “violent criminality”.
Despite consensus among politicians that Palestine Action’s tactics undermine debate, many say the ban is unfeasible and could limit freedom of expression in the long term.
More than 700 people were arrested for showing public support for the newly proscribed group and more demonstrations featuring larger numbers are planned in the coming weeks.
Jonathan Hall, the UK's independent reviewer for terrorism legislation, has warned the appearance of Palestine Action supporters, many of them white-collar professionals and more than half of them over 60, does not exempt them from the law.
"Police have to treat you the same whether you look like a … I use the phrase 'hairy foreigner', or you're some nice white-haired old lady sitting on the road," he said.
Campaign breakaway
Ms Ammori co-founded Palestine Action in 2020, after breaking rank with the more mainstream groups organising rallies for Palestine.
Her co-founder, Richard Barnard, 51, is a veteran of climate action group Extinction Rebellion (XR), and has described himself in a recent interview with Prospect magazine as a self-taught Catholic who converted to Islam.
The daughter of a prominent NHS surgeon, Ms Ammori graduated with a degree in International Business and Finance at the University of Manchester in 2018.
Her father is of Palestinian origin, and her mother, also a doctor, is Iraqi, and Ms Ammori was born and grew up in Bolton in the north-west of England.
As a student, she raised funds for refugees in Greece and took part in emergency search and rescues, which she says secured the landing of refugee boats crossing the Aegean Sea.
She founded a branch of the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) campaign at her university in 2016.
She first became involved in direct action protests in July 2016, when she was part of a group of five who blocked the entrance to an Elbit-owned factory. All were arrested but the charges against them eventually dropped.
After graduating, she joined the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which organises rallies across the UK and promotes the BDS movement, but she left two years later.
Ms Ammori is dismissive of the marches for Palestine happening across Europe, which have attracted hundreds of thousands of people, and have been likened to the youth protests against the US war in Vietnam, or the anti-apartheid campaign in South Africa.
In April, she described the marches – including those organised by her former colleagues at the PSC – as “essentially state-sanctioned protests, organised in collaboration with the police.” For that reason, she adds, “they were never going to pose a serious threat.”
Ms Ammori faced up to five years in prison for a series of actions taken against Elbit Systems' headquarters in London and other premises in 2020.
But she was acquitted in 2024 after she and others argued they would have “consent” in theory from the landlords of the targeted buildings, if they had been aware of Elbit’s alleged crimes, according to Mr Ammori’s own account of the trial.
She has appeared as a speaker on Mint Press, a US-based website linked to peddling conspiracy theories in support of the former Assad regime in Syria.
Growing popularity
Direct-action campaigns come with the high risk of arrest and conviction, which meant Palestine Action’s footprint remained small for some time. But its popularity grew as Israel’s military campaign in Gaza intensified and UK politicians were slow to condemn their ally.
Supporters insist direct action has resulted in the closure of Elbit Systems factories in the UK and that the group helped bring attention to the government’s security relationship with Israel.
“Direct action has been more effective than the marches,” said one sympathiser, who has been marching regularly for Palestine since October last year. “With the demos, you just go to feel good about yourself, then go home.”
Since the ban came into effect, support for Palestine Action has been led by Defend Our Juries, a campaign group established in 2023 after a judge tried to stop climate activists from presenting their motivations to a jury.
They have mobilised the hundreds of people who say the ban is an affront to their freedom of speech. Many had been activists with XR and Just Stop Oil.
Speaking at an XR demonstration in London in April 2023, Ms Ammori pledged to “shut down every single Israeli weapons factory in the country”.
"We go to their factories, we climb on to their, roofs, we blockade their gates, we smash inside their arms factories and destroy their weapons of war," she said at the time.
Among Palestine Action’s past donors is American communist and billionaire James “Fergie” Chambers and award-winning Irish author Sally Rooney, who recently pledged to support the group despite warnings against doing so from the UK government.
Donations are used to fund the legal fees of those involved in the group’s actions, in cases which have dragged on for years due to the UK’s overstretched courts.
Unreliable messaging
Despite its groundswell in support, Palestine Action is nonetheless divisive, even among those seeking to end Israel's occupation and reach an end to the war in Gaza.
Some believe the group’s actions risk alienating a more mainstream public from the Palestinian cause, particularly in actions taken in public spaces, and those that were seen as targeting Jewish spaces.
Last November, the group broke into the University of Manchester to steal the bust of Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, who had taught at the university after moving to England from Belarus. The action prompted Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to issue a statement about “reassuring all students and staff, particularly the Jewish community, of their safety on campus”.
Its last action at the RAF Brize Norton airbase, in which two military planes were spraypainted, is estimated to have caused £7 million ($9.4 million) of damage.
There are concerns about the reliability of the groups’ claims however. Barclays bank rejected a claim from the group last year that it had divested from Elbit Systems in response to Palestine Action, saying it held shares as a result "of client instruction or demand”.
“We are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a ‘shareholder’ or ‘investor’ in Elbit Systems in that sense, and therefore cannot divest; it would be misleading to suggest otherwise," it said.
Shipping company Kuehne + Nagel, whose premises were targeted by Palestine Action in January 2024, had ended its relationship with Elbit Systems six months previously in 2023, according to trade website Break Bulk News.
One company chose to remain anonymous because its employees had been targeted online. “The spray-painting of our offices came with a mass campaign on social media,” it told The National. "It was very aggressive. We were not sure if it was led by humans. People online were saying they will find the people who work with us. It targeted our employees."
And there is no indication the UK government is ready to sever its connections with the arms manufacturer. Reports this month suggested it is poised to enter into a $2 billion contract with Elbit Systems.
Ms Ammori insists Palestine Action is peaceful and that her actions are a last resort in the face of a government that refuses to apply further pressure on Israel.
"Yes, I took direct action out of my own free will," she wrote last year, "because there was no other viable option".
Scream%20VI
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The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The years Ramadan fell in May
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More coverage from the Future Forum
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile
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The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Arsenal's pre-season fixtures
Thursday Beat Sydney 2-0 in Sydney
Saturday v Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney
Wednesday v Bayern Munich in Shanghai
July 22 v Chelsea in Beijing
July 29 v Benfica in London
July 30 v Sevilla in London
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2018 Ford F-150
Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km
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How%20champions%20are%20made
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EDiet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7am%20-%20Protein%20shake%20with%20oats%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E10am%20-%205-6%20egg%20whites%0D%3Cbr%3E1pm%20-%20White%20rice%20or%20chapati%20(Indian%20bread)%20with%20chicken%0D%3Cbr%3E4pm%20-%20Dry%20fruits%20%0D%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%20-%20Pre%20workout%20meal%20%E2%80%93%20grilled%20fish%20or%20chicken%20with%20veggies%20and%20fruits%0D%3Cbr%3E8.30pm%20to%20midnight%20workout%0D%3Cbr%3E12.30am%20%E2%80%93%20Protein%20shake%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETotal%20intake%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204000-4500%20calories%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESaidu%E2%80%99s%20weight%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20110%20kg%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStats%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Biceps%2019%20inches.%20Forearms%2018%20inches%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
The years Ramadan fell in May
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont
Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
Engine 3.6-litre V6
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
The view from The National
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
More about Middle East geopolitics
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
