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// DOSSIER — us-designates-palestine-action-far-left-groups-global
US Designates Palestine Action and Far-Left Groups as Global Terrorists
REL_TIME: 29 Aug 2026 07:45Z · LANG: EN
On August 26, 2026, the Trump administration designated the UK-based direct-action group Palestine Action, the Italian tech collective Autistici/Inventati, and the pro-Palestinian movement Masar Badil as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. This coordinated action by the US Treasury and State Departments blocks the groups' US-based assets and criminalizes any financial or material support from US persons. The move follows the UK's July 2025 proscription of Palestine Action, which the group is currently challenging in the UK Supreme Court. While US officials frame the designations as a necessary crackdown on violent far-left terror networks targeting critical defense infrastructure and law enforcement, critics, including Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori and the UN Human Rights Office, have condemned the designations as draconian measures that criminalize political dissent and threaten free speech.
// Background
Palestine Action was founded in 2020 to target corporate enablers of the Israeli military, primarily focusing on Elbit Systems. Its activists have engaged in direct action, including breaking into weapons factories, causing millions of dollars in damage, and vandalizing Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland in March 2025. In July 2025, the UK became the first country to proscribe Palestine Action under its Terrorism Act, leading to thousands of arrests of supporters. The US designation utilizes Executive Order 13224, a post-9/11 authority, reflecting a broader Trump administration policy shift to prioritize countering what it defines as transnational far-left terrorism.
// Key Developments
- The US designated Palestine Action, Masar Badil, and Autistici/Inventati as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224.
- Palestine Action co-founders Huda Ammori and Richard Barnard face lifetime bans from entering the United States.
- The designation follows the UK's July 2025 proscription of Palestine Action, which is set for a UK Supreme Court appeal in November 2026.
- The Italian hacker collective Autistici/Inventati was sanctioned for allegedly providing encrypted communications and digital infrastructure to Antifa cells.
- The UN Human Rights Office condemned the US designation as a disproportionate restriction on free speech with a chilling effect.
- Israel's Foreign Ministry welcomed the US decision, accusing such groups of using humanitarian pretenses to mask violent operations.
// Timeline
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Palestine Action activists raid an Elbit Systems plant in Filton, near Bristol, causing over 1 million pounds in damage and injuring a police officer.
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Protesters target Donald Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland, painting 'Gaza is not 4 sale' on the greens.
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Activists break into the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base and damage two military planes.
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The UK government officially proscribes Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000.
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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosts an international political terrorism summit to refocus counterterrorism efforts on far-left terror.
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The US Treasury and State Departments designate Palestine Action, Masar Badil, and Autistici/Inventati as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
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The UK Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Palestine Action's legal challenge against its UK proscription.
// Perspectives
[US Trump Administration]
Views the designated groups as violent far-left extremist networks that threaten critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and civilization, justifying the use of aggressive economic sanctions to eliminate their financial lifelines.
[Palestine Action]
Maintains that its direct actions are legitimate civil disobedience aimed at disrupting the Israeli military-industrial complex to save lives in Gaza, viewing the US and UK bans as authoritarian crackdowns on political dissent.
[UN Human Rights Office]
Condemns the US designation as a disproportionate and unnecessary restriction on free speech that misuses the definition of terrorism and creates a chilling effect on advocacy.
[Israeli Foreign Ministry]
Welcomes the US sanctions, asserting that these organizations systematically exploit Western civil society and humanitarian pretenses to mask violent operations and channel illicit funds.
[Collettivo Autistici/Inventati (A/I Collective)]
Denies the terrorism allegations, asserting they provide privacy-focused digital self-defense tools for activists and accusing the US administration of fabricating charges to distract from its own warmongering.
// Quotes
“Far-left extremists, their fronts and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear.”
“The fact that Trump is now taking inspiration from Britain's repression of the movement for Palestinian freedom exposes just how dangerous this ban is and should be a wake-up call to anyone who cares about free speech and civil liberties.”
“There will be no refuge for violent extremists who wage war on our civilization and plot to undermine law and order, destroy critical infrastructure, assault political opponents or conceal their crimes from authorities.”
