US Treasury designates UK-based Palestine Action a global terrorist entity
Rights & JusticeWell-coveredThe Facts
- The US Treasury Department designated UK-based Palestine Action a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Wednesday.
- Treasury accused Palestine Action of supporting "numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020."
- The designation blocks all Palestine Action property in the US or held by American citizens.
- The sanctions bar Americans from doing business with or providing funds to Palestine Action.
- Treasury also sanctioned Italy-based collective Autistici/Inventati and the pro-Palestinian network Masar Badil.
- The United Kingdom banned Palestine Action under its Terrorism Act in 2025, making support for it illegal.
- The UK Supreme Court is due to hear the group's appeal against the British ban in November.
- Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori rejected the US designation, calling it "beyond hypocritical."
Context
What is Palestine Action and what has it done?
Founded in the UK in 2020, the group says its goal is to end "global participation in Israel's genocidal and apartheid regime" RT,Times of Israel,Anadolu Ajansı. Its members have targeted Israel-linked defence companies in Britain, with a particular focus on Elbit Systems, Israel's largest defence firm, damaging materials at its sites Middle East Eye,Yahoo News,Dawn.
Why is the US acting now?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told officials from more than 60 countries last month that Washington would refocus international counterterrorism on what he called "far-left terror" Terra,Jerusalem Post. Trump has issued orders directing his government to designate groups it labels "far-left" as terrorist organisations NZ Herald,Milenio.com,Excélsior. Democrats have raised concerns that the approach politicises counterterrorism Terra,Jerusalem Post.
What are the practical consequences of the designation?
The designation was made under Executive Order 13224, which permits secondary sanctions against those who support the organisation Anadolu Ajansı. US assets are frozen and Americans are barred from transactions with the group, effectively cutting it off from the US financial system Independent,RT,POLITICO. Rights groups have criticised the earlier UK ban, which has led to thousands of arrests, as criminalising dissent Dawn,Times of Israel,Firstpost.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The designation carries real force — US property blocked, American funding barred — so what the terrorism label attaches to is doing the work, and neither framing treats it as symbolic.
- Where Left and Right split
- Counterterrorism machinery reaching a protest movement while its appeal is still unheard, or keeping American money out of groups tied to terrorism.
- Why they won’t converge
- The divide is definitional rather than factual: both sides accept the same acts occurred, but disagree over whether property-destruction protest belongs inside the legal category of terrorism, a boundary no additional evidence about the acts can settle.
How left and right read it
Counterterrorism sanctions were built for mass violence, not for protest movements. Yet Treasury has blocked Palestine Action's US property and barred Americans from funding it before the UK Supreme Court has even heard the group's appeal against Britain's ban, and because that same sweep also named an Italy-based digital collective and a pro-Palestinian network, what is being sanctioned is plainly a political current. The designation should be rescinded.
“The designation is part of the administration's global crusade against left-wing organizations and movements, specifically antifa (anti-fascism).” — The New Republic
American dollars should never underwrite terrorism, and that is the stake here. Treasury tied the group to numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020, so blocking its US property and barring Americans from funding it keeps our financial system out of that business — the same conclusion Britain reached when it banned Palestine Action in 2025. Keep the designation and enforce it.
The receipts — 83 sources
Wire services (3)
Independent coverage (80)
The news, read by both sides.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief, built to show both sides and the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.