Palestine Action Designated a Terrorist Group by the US

Supporting the group has been illegal in Britain since it was banned under anti-terror legislation in 2025. The US move is part of a wave of sanctions announced by the administration of Donald Trump against what it calls far-left terror organisations around the world.

What Palestine Action said

Co-founder Huda Ammori hit back on social media. “As a Palestinian and Iraqi, the fact the country which destroyed both my homelands is calling me a terrorist, is beyond hypocritical,” she wrote. In a statement to the BBC, she said the group’s actions had “always been about saving lives” and that the ban should be a “wake-up call to anyone who cares about free speech and democracy”. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was unambiguous about the intent.

Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear. 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 group, which used so-called direct action tactics against Israeli-linked arms companies in the UK, is still fighting its British ban. Court of Appeal judges ruled in June that the government’s interference with freedom of expression rights was “justified and proportionate”, and four members were jailed the same month over a break-in at a defence firm that caused more than £1m of damage. The proscription has swept up people with no link to the group, too: Massive Attack recently described being detained for displaying a Palestine flag.

Palestine Action has since been given permission to challenge the Court of Appeal ruling at the Supreme Court, and that hearing is now its last route to overturning the UK ban.