For decades, the word “Palestine” has been carefully curated into a symbol of noble struggle, of a dispossessed people seeking justice. We have been sold a narrative of historic grievance and a righteous fight for self-determination. But a brand is only as strong as the product it represents, and the product being sold under the banner of “Palestine” is increasingly revealed to be rotten with the poison of extremism, violence, and an open affinity for terror. The romanticized image is crumbling, and what lies beneath is not a movement for freedom, but a global front for hate.

Look no further than the mud-caked fields of the Glastonbury Festival, an event supposedly dedicated to music and liberal ideals. This year, it became a stage for the movement’s true face. We witnessed artists leading crowds in chants of “Death to the IDF,” a call for the destruction of a nation’s army. We saw a performer, subsequently arrested on terrorism charges, use the platform to lionize proscribed terrorist organizations. This is not a fringe element; this is the mainstream of the movement, openly celebrating Hamas and Hezbollah at one of the world’s most iconic cultural events. The mask has not just slipped; it has been triumphantly torn off and set ablaze.

This is not mere conjecture or guilt by association. The British government itself has been forced to act. The decision to proscribe the activist group Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act is a seismic event that the movement’s apologists cannot ignore. Let’s be clear about what this means: a key pillar of pro-Palestinian activism in the UK is now legally considered in the same category as ISIS and al-Qaeda. The state, after reviewing the evidence, has concluded that Palestine Action’s methods are not protest, but terrorism. The slogans about “historic ownership” and “right of return” are exposed as a thin veneer for a campaign of violence and intimidation that has crossed a legal and moral Rubicon. The cause of “Palestine” is no longer just associated with terror groups—its own flagship activist organizations are now being designated as such by Western governments.

The most damning evidence, however, comes not from governments, but from the activists themselves. Consider the horrifying ordeal of Noa Argamani, a young woman recently freed from the clutches of Hamas terrorists after enduring unimaginable trauma. As she tried to reclaim her life in London, she was accosted by so-called “pro-Palestinian” activists. Did they offer sympathy? Did they condemn her captors? No. They screamed in her face, “Hamas are coming.”

Read those words again. Not “freedom is coming.” Not “justice is coming.” They threatened a terror victim with the return of her tormentors. This is the raw, unvarnished ideology of the movement laid bare. It is not pro-Palestinian; it is pro-Hamas. It does not stand for the liberation of a people; it stands for the celebration of the 7/10 massacre and a desire for its repetition. This single, sickening incident reveals more than a thousand protest signs ever could: the movement’s heart is not with victims, but with violent perpetrators.

This internal sickness festers even in Gaza, the very place the movement claims to champion. While Western activists chant slogans about liberation, reports emerge of a dedicated Hamas-run unit, the “Al-Majd,” murdering and torturing other Palestinians. Their crimes? Dissent. Being accused of petty theft. Voicing anti-Hamas sentiment. This is the “self-determination” the movement supports: a brutal, authoritarian death squad that preys on its own people. The narrative of Hamas as a legitimate resistance fighting for its population evaporates in the face of this truth. They are not liberators; they are jailers and executioners, and the pro-Palestine movement in the West serves as their international PR wing, whitewashing their atrocities while they suppress their own people with unimaginable cruelty.

Is it any wonder, then, that this movement cannot rely on genuine, organic support? Reports from musicians and artists reveal a culture of coercion and fear. They speak of being pressured, threatened, and effectively “extorted” into making pro-Palestine statements. A cause that was truly just would not need to operate like a mafia protection racket. It would inspire support, not demand it under threat of cancellation and professional ruin. This reliance on bullying reveals a deep-seated insecurity; it is the tactic of an intolerant ideology that cannot win on the merit of its arguments and so resorts to intimidation to create a false consensus.

The time has come to stop playing along with this dangerous charade. The word “Palestine,” as used by its most vocal modern proponents, has been hijacked. It has been twisted into a brand that sanitizes terror, a shield for extremists, and a euphemism for the vilest forms of antisemitic hate. It is a poisoned chalice offered to well-meaning people who are rightly concerned about human suffering, but who are being duped into supporting a movement that stands with terrorists, bullies its critics, and cheers for the brutalization of civilians. We must have the courage to say that while Palestinians, like all people, deserve a future of peace and dignity, the political movement that claims to speak for them has become a global menace that champions the very opposite.