USA declares Palestine Action a terrorist organization: "We will eliminate the far-left"
Washington joins the UK in imposing strict sanctions on the pro-Palestinian organization that led massive protests against Israel and carried out violent acts, including storming Elbit factories and vandalizing British Air Force aircraft. Anyone doing business with them now risks sanctions. The US Treasury Secretary stated: "We will cut off their financial oxygen supply."
The United States declared the pro-Palestinian organization Palestine Action a terrorist organization this evening (Wednesday), a move that will inevitably lead to sanctions and limit its ability to operate in America and abroad.
American sanctions include the freezing of all the organization's assets in the US and a ban on US citizens and companies from conducting transactions with it. Anyone violating this ban may face sanctions themselves. In announcing the designation, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated:
"Far-left activists, their front organizations, and their enablers should know: we will apply the full weight of the economic tools at our disposal. There is no place for political terror in our society, and we will continue to cut off the financial oxygen supply of these organizations until their elimination."
The American announcement follows the UK government's decision to declare Palestine Action illegal in July 2025, following a series of violent acts against Israeli defense companies, led by Elbit Systems, and their associates. This decision came days after activists attacked a Royal Air Force base in June 2025, vandalizing two military aircraft. In August 2024, they broke into an Elbit Systems factory in Bristol, causing over a million dollars in damage and assaulting police officers.
In the UK, the classification of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization made it legally equivalent to groups like Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, or the IRA. Any demonstration organized by its members is now automatically illegal. Supporting the organization can carry a penalty of up to six months in prison, while membership or organizing events can lead to up to 14 years in prison.
In protest, thousands of supporters have held spontaneous demonstrations over the past year, challenging the ban. More than 3,400 supporters have been arrested, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Palestine Action, founded in 2020 and prominent since the October 7 terror attack, has appealed the British government's decision. The most recent court ruling upheld the ban, and the case is headed to the UK Supreme Court.
The US designation is part of a broader push by President Donald Trump and his administration to act firmly against far-left organizations. Last month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told officials from over 60 countries that Washington would focus international efforts on combating what he termed "far-left terrorism." Democrats in the US have expressed concern that the Trump administration is politicizing counter-terrorism efforts and diverting resources from other threats.
Huda Ammori, a founder of Palestine Action, responded by stating that the organization's activity "has always been intended to save lives by disrupting the Israeli war machine." She added that "the fact that Trump is now drawing inspiration from Britain's suppression of the movement for Palestinian freedom exposes how dangerous this ban is, and must serve as a wake-up call to anyone who cares about freedom of speech and civil liberties."
