US designates Palestine Action a terrorist group

The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the UK‑based organization Palestine Action, labeling it a terrorist group and freezing its assets under a new executive order announced Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett said the move targets “far‑left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers,” warning that the United States will “bring the full value of our economic tools to bear” and will continue to sever the financial lifelines of such groups until they are dismantled. He added that “political coercion has no place in our society.” The sanctions are part of a broader series of measures rolled out by the Trump administration against what it describes as far‑left terror organizations operating worldwide. According to the Treasury, Palestine Action has supported “numerous acts of coercion since July 2020,” including incidents that physically injured UK law‑enforcement officers and actions intended to intimidate legitimate commercial enterprises and pressure the British government. Palestine Action, known for employing direct‑action tactics against Israeli‑linked arms firms in the United Kingdom, had already been outlawed domestically. In 2025 British authorities banned the group under anti‑terror legislation, making any support for it a criminal offense. The group’s co‑founder, Huda Ammori, denounced the designation on social media, stating exactly: “As a Palestinian and Iraqi, the information the state which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist, is beyond hypocritical.” In a separate statement to the BBC she said the group’s actions had “always been about saving lives,” and warned that the ban should serve as a “wake‑up call to anyone who cares about free speech and democracy.” Legal challenges to the UK ban continue. In June the Court of Appeal ruled that the government’s restriction on Palestine Action was a “justified and proportionate” interference with freedom of expression. The group has since been granted leave to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. Also in June, four members of Palestine Action were sentenced for breaking into a defence contractor’s facility, causing damage exceeding £1 million. One of the defendants received a term for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a police officer who was struck with a sledgehammer during the incident.