[News] US designates Palestine Action activist group 'Specially Designated Global Terrorist'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-designates-palestine-action-specially-designated-global-terrorist>
US designates Palestine Action activist group 'Specially Designated Global
Terrorist'
MEE staff
August 26, 2026
------------------------------
[image: image.png]

Protesters, with their faces covered for fear of retaliation, participate
in the 'Break the Siege on Gaza' protest outside the Israeli Embassy in
Washington, DC, on 9 August 2025 (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

The Trump administration has designated
<https://www.treasury.gov/ofac/downloads/sdnnew26.pdf> the UK activist
group Palestine Action a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), as
part of its efforts to go after what it described as "violent far-left
terror networks".

Wednesday's decision comes a year after the United Kingdom banned the group
for damaging materials at weapons factories run by Elbit Systems.

Elbit is a key provider of weapons to the Israeli military, which has for
nearly three years carried out what the United Nations and Holocaust
scholars have called a genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Palestine Action is now sanctioned in the US "for having materially
assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological
support for, or goods and services to or in support of, an act of
terrorism", the Department of the Treasury said in a statement.

"The group’s actions include multiple high-profile instances of breaking
into defense infrastructure and British military installations, and causing
millions of dollars’ worth of damage to military equipment. Palestine
Action has promoted its violent, criminal, and terrorist acts on social
media, encouraging the use of similar tactics internationally, including
within the United States and along the U.S.-Mexican border," it added.
Targets

The SDGT list was first established just days after the 11 September 2001
attacks, when President George W Bush signed Executive Order 13224. Its
first target was the then-largest Muslim charity in the US, the Holy Land
Foundation.

Five Palestinian-American men were tried twice
<https://www.cage.ngo/articles/the-hlf5> and sentenced to decades in prison
on charges of providing funds to "Hamas-run groups", though no evidence was
ever provided in court to demonstrate a link to violent activities.

"The United States does not sanction persons for engaging in political
speech or other constitutionally protected activities," the Treasury's
statement on Wednesday said.

"As outlined in E.O. 13224 of September 23, 2001, however, 'violent acts
and acts dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure, that appear
to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or to
influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion' are
defined as terrorism."

In addition to Palestine Action, the Trump administration also announced
sanctions on Masar Badil
<https://masarbadil.org/en/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-english/>,
a movement that advocates for an "alternative revolutionary path" for
Palestinian rights and freedoms, after decades of failed attempts at
negotiations.

"Masar Badil is inextricably linked with Samidoun, and described by one of
its senior leaders as part of the same political project. The organizations
share fundraising mechanisms as well as senior leaders and members," the
Treasury said.

Samidoun was sanctioned by the US and Canada in 2024
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-canada-target-pro-palestinian-samidoun-label-sham-charity>.
It has denied all terror links.
Background

Palestine Action was founded in 2020 after activists broke into and spray
painted the London headquarters of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms
firm.

Its network of activists have subsequently used tactics, including direct
action, to target what it says are the “corporate enablers of the Israeli
military-industrial complex". Actions have included breaking into offices
and factories to spray-paint or damage equipment they say is used to commit
war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Elbit is the group's primary target, prompting multiple companies to sever
ties with the defence contractor, and costing the company “billions”
<https://palestineaction.org/victories/> in lost contracts and divestments,
according to Palestine Action.

Barclays <https://palestineaction.org/barclays-divest-elbit/>, which owned
16,000 shares in Elbit Systems, divested from the contractors in October,
while the UK’s Ministry of Defence cancelled £280m worth of contracts
<https://palestineaction.org/contract-loss/> with the company.

In July 2025, Palestine Action became proscribed under Section 3 of the
UK's Terrorism Act 2000.

That made it a criminal offence to be a member of the group "or to invite
or recklessly express support for them".

Since then, hundreds of protesters including elderly and disabled activists
have been arrested by British police simply for holding signs that say "I
support Palestine Action".

Critics have slammed the arrests as political theatre and a waste of
policing resources. Social media videos of the arrests have gone viral.

The Palestine Action members who broke into Elbit Systems have described
severe PTSD from being in the custody of counter-terrorism police.

Hannah Davidson, 53, along with her co-defendants Ian Sanders, 47;
Aleksandra Herbich, 41; Teuta Hoxha, 30; Sean Middlebrough, 33; Julia
Brigadirova, 33; and Madeleine Norman, 31, face charges of violent disorder
and criminal damage in connection with a break-in to an Elbit Systems plant
in Filton, near Bristol, in August 2024.

Last month, William Plastow, 35, was acquitted of violent disorder by the
presiding judge, Patrick Field, who concluded the prosecution had not
produced enough evidence against him. He continues to face criminal damage
charges.

The eight defendants are accused of coordinating the break-in by carrying
out reconnaissance and purchasing equipment, but are not alleged to have
gone into the factory premises during the raid.

Last week, following an eight-week trial and around 37 hours of
deliberations at the Old Bailey, jurors could not reach verdicts for seven
of the defendants. They could now face a retrial.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20260827/f9bd0d08/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1373988 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20260827/f9bd0d08/attachment-0001.png>