US Designates Palestine Action a Terrorist Group
BBC Homepage
Skip to content
Accessibility Help
Your account
Home
News
Sport
Earth
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Culture
Future
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
More menu
More menu
Search BBC
Home
- Climate
- World
- UK
- Business
- Tech
- Science
- Entertainment & Arts
- Health
- In Pictures
BBC Verify
Newsbeat
World
- Africa
- Asia
- Australia
- Europe
- Latin America
- Middle East
- US & Canada
US & Canada: US Designates Palestine Action a Terrorist Group
The US has imposed sanctions on Palestine Action, designating it as a terrorist group.
The US Department of the Treasury stated they had "taken action" against the UK-based group, accusing them of supporting "numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020."
Supporting Palestine Action became illegal in the UK in 2025 under anti-terror legislation.
"As a Palestinian and Iraqi, the fact the country which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist, is beyond hypocritical." – Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action
In a statement to the BBC, Ammori argued that the group’s actions had "always been about saving lives" and that the ban should be a "wake-up call" to those concerned about free speech.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the move, stating:
"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 sanctions include freezing any group assets based in the US or controlled by US citizens.
This ban is part of a wider wave of sanctions from the Trump administration targeting what it calls global far-left terror organisations.
The Department of Treasury accused Palestine Action of supporting terrorism, including incidents that "physically injured UK law enforcement personnel" and attempts to "intimidate lawful commercial enterprises".
Palestine Action, known for its direct action tactics against Israeli-linked arms companies in the UK, is facing an ongoing legal battle to overturn the ban.
They have been granted permission to challenge the decision at the Supreme Court.
Over 2,000 people are at risk of trial after being arrested during protests against the ban, allegedly declaring support for a proscribed terrorism group.
Four members of Palestine Action were jailed in June for a break-in at a defence firm causing over £1 million worth of damage, with one individual sentenced for GBH on a police officer struck by a sledgehammer.
