US designates UK-based Palestine Action as terrorist group, imposes sanctions
The US Treasury has sanctioned Palestine Action, freezing its US-linked assets. The UK-based group was already banned under British anti-terror legislation in 2025.
US Treasury sanctions Palestine Action, calling it a far-left terror organisation
The United States has designated Palestine Action as a terrorist group and imposed financial sanctions on the UK-based organisation, according to BBC News.
The US Department of the Treasury announced it had "taken action" against the group, accusing it of supporting "numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020, including acts that have physically injured UK law enforcement personnel, as well as acts intended to intimidate lawful commercial enterprises and coerce the UK government."
The sanctions include freezing any assets belonging to Palestine Action that are held in the US or under the control of US citizens.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the move on Wednesday. "Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear," he said. "Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated."
The US designation forms part of a broader wave of sanctions announced by the Trump administration against organisations it describes as far-left terror groups operating around the world.
Palestine Action had already been banned in the UK in 2025, when the government proscribed it under anti-terror legislation, making support for the group a criminal offence.
The group's co-founder Huda Ammori responded to the US designation in a social media post, writing: "As a Palestinian and Iraqi, the fact the country which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist, is beyond hypocritical." In a separate statement to the BBC, Ammori said the group's actions had "always been about saving lives" and described the ban as a "wake-up call to anyone who cares about free speech and democracy."
Palestine Action, which employed direct action tactics against Israeli-linked arms companies operating in the UK, has been engaged in a sustained legal challenge to overturn its British proscription. In June, Court of Appeal judges ruled that the UK government had made a "justified and proportionate" interference with freedom of expression rights. The group has since been granted permission to bring the case before the Supreme Court.
More than 2,000 people face potential trial after being arrested for allegedly declaring support for a proscribed terrorism group during mass demonstrations held in protest at the ban.
Four members of the organisation were separately jailed in June following a break-in at a defence firm that caused more than £1m worth of damage. One individual was sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm to a police officer, who was struck with a sledgehammer during the raid.
Source: BBC News