The Trump administration has designated Palestine Action, a controversial UK-based activist group, as a specially designated global terrorist organization. The move, announced by the Department of the Treasury on August 26, imposes sweeping financial sanctions that block all property belonging to the organization in the US or under control of American citizens. It’s a dramatic escalation in a broader crackdown on what the administration describes as far-left extremism.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t mince words. “Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice,” he warned, promising to bring “the full weight of our economic tools to bear.” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott characterized Palestine Action alongside two other sanctioned groups as “violent far-left terrorist groups.” The sanctions prevent US citizens from conducting any business with the organization or providing financial support.
Why target this particular group? Founded in 2020, Palestine Action has drawn attention through direct action campaigns aimed at ending what it calls global support for Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. The US government accuses the group of promoting “violent, criminal, and terrorist acts” on social media and encouraging similar tactics internationally, including within the United States and along the US-Mexican border.
Co-founder Huda Ammori, who is Palestinian and Iraqi, fired back on social media. “The fact the country which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist is beyond hypocritical,” she wrote. The designation comes just months after a UK Court of Appeal upheld Britain’s own ban on the organization in June, though that decision may still face a Supreme Court challenge.
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