US Designates Palestine Action as a Global Terrorist Group

The United States designated the British anti-Israel group Palestine Action as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on Wednesday, imposing financial sanctions on an organization known for targeting companies linked to Israel’s defense industry.

The Treasury Department said Palestine Action has supported acts of terrorism since 2020, including break-ins at defense facilities and British military installations, attacks that injured law enforcement officers and incidents that caused millions of dollars in damage to military equipment.

Palestine Action has focused much of its activity on companies connected to Israel, particularly Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest defense company. Activists have repeatedly entered or damaged facilities linked to the company as part of a campaign aimed at disrupting its operations in Britain.

The Treasury also accused the group of promoting its actions on social media and encouraging similar tactics internationally, including in the United States. The department said the designation was imposed under a counterterrorism executive order covering groups that provide support for acts of terrorism.

As a result of the designation, any Palestine Action property or financial interests under U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions involving the group, while financial institutions that facilitate certain transactions could also face sanctions exposure.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States would bring the “full weight of our economic tools” against far-left extremist groups, their fronts and their supporters.

The U.S. action follows Britain’s decision in July 2025 to proscribe Palestine Action under its Terrorism Act. The British ban made membership in or support for the organization a criminal offense.

That decision remains the subject of a legal challenge in Britain. The U.K. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal after a lower court upheld the government’s decision to classify Palestine Action as a terrorist organization.

The Treasury Department sanctioned Palestine Action as part of a broader action targeting what it described as violent far-left terrorist networks. It also designated Italy-based Autistici Inventati and Masar Badil, which Treasury described as a front for the previously sanctioned Samidoun network. Samidoun was sanctioned by the United States in 2024 over its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The new designation adds U.S. financial restrictions to the legal measures already imposed against Palestine Action in Britain, significantly increasing the international consequences for the group and those providing it with financial or material support.