US designates UK-based Palestine Action as terrorist group

The US has designated UK-based Palestine Action as a "specially designated global terrorist" organization, imposing sanctions on the group. According to the US Treasury Department, Palestine Action has supported several acts of terrorism since July 2020, including breaking into British military institutions. The group describes itself as a direct-action protest group and campaigns for the establishment of a Palestinian state, an end to the war in Gaza, and for the UK to impose a full arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.

The designation comes as part of the Trump administration's efforts to crack down on left-wing groups in its counterterrorism efforts. US Secretary of State had previously told officials from over 60 countries that Washington would seek to refocus international counterterrorism efforts on what he called "far-left terror". The US Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on an Italy-based entity it accused of supplying digital architecture, tools, and services for antifa and other far-left groups.

The UK had already designated Palestine Action a terrorist organization last year, after a series of demonstrations at Israel-linked arms factories and a Royal Air Force base. According to Investing.com and Jerusalem Post, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said that "far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear."

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Jerusalem Post, Punch, Investing.com, The National UAE — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.