The United States on Wednesday (August 26, 2026) named the U.K.-based Palestine Action group, which has been banned by the British government, as a “terrorist” organisation, as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign against left-wing movements.
Rights groups have decried the ban, saying it was aimed at criminalising dissent. Since returning to power for his second term, U.S. U.S.
Set up in 2020, Palestine Action is appealing against the U.K. government ban, which has led to thousands of arrests.
President Donald Trump has directed his government to designate what it terms “far-left” groups as terrorist organisations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would bring “the full weight of our economic tools to bear” against far-left groups “to cut the financial lifelines… until they are eliminated. Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, said that the U.K. ban and the U.S. terror designation “should be a wake-up call to anyone who cares about free speech and civil liberties. “Palestine Action’s activities in the U.S. and elsewhere have always been about saving lives by disrupting the Israeli war machine, which is committing a genocide in Gaza with the support of the US Government,” Ammori said. Israel welcomed the decision, with the Foreign Ministry emphasising on X that “terrorist organizations have systematically exploited Western civil society, using political and humanitarian pretenses to mask violent operations, radicalize youth, and channel illicit funding.”
