By SCM International Desk I Thursday, August 27,2026
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has designated the United Kingdom-based direct-action group Palestine Action as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), dramatically expanding its domestic and international enforcement efforts against activists targeting defense contractors connected to Israel.
The decision, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under Executive Order 13224, effectively blocks any U.S.-linked assets owned by the group and imposes severe secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions and individuals that provide financial, material, or technological support to the network.
The Treasury Department accused Palestine Action of orchestrating property damage against defense installations, alleging that the group’s direct-action tactics constitute political intimidation and violent disruption.
“Palestine Action has promoted its violent, criminal, and terrorist acts on social media, encouraging the use of similar tactics internationally,” the Treasury Department said in a statement accompanying the decision.
Founded in the United Kingdom in 2020, Palestine Action gained global prominence by deploying direct-action tactics—such as blockades, property destruction, and red paint sprayings—to disrupt facilities tied to defense manufacturers. The group’s primary campaign focused on Elbit Systems, a major Israeli defense contractor.
The U.S. terrorist designation follows a sweeping crackdown by British authorities. In July 2025, the U.K. government officially proscribed Palestine Action under Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000, making membership or public expression of support for the group a criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The British ban triggered thousands of police arrests across the country, drawing sharp criticism from international human rights organizations and legal observers who warned that using counterterrorism legislation against property destruction sets a dangerous precedent for political dissent.
Advocacy groups and international allies condemned Washington’s counterterrorism sanctions. The Global Sumud Flotilla released a statement offering solidarity with Palestine Action, characterizing the Trump administration’s SDGT listing as a admission of policy failure.
“Proof of impact: U.S. ‘terrorist’ designation of Palestine Action is a confession of impotence,” the coalition declared in its statement, arguing that administrative sanctions would not deter activist campaigns aimed at defense supply chains.
Legal experts note that applying terrorism designations to direct-action protest groups exposes U.S. citizens, non-governmental organizations, and global financial networks to material support charges.
By moving Palestine Action onto the SDN list alongside militant groups and sanctioned foreign state actors, the federal government acquires broad jurisdiction to track and freeze international donor money, seize digital assets, and monitor cross-border activist networks.
The Treasury Department’s announcement marks one of the most aggressive uses of U.S. sanctions powers against a Western political activist organization to date, signaling an expanding effort by the administration to police international pro-Palestinian advocacy under federal security authorities.
