US sanctions British activist group Palestine Action and others

The United States has imposed financial sanctions on the British activist group Palestine Action and the international movement Masar Badil, intensifying a global crackdown on critics of Israel. The US Department of the Treasury also targeted Autistici Inventati, an Italy-based group providing digital services to left-wing organizations, including those supporting Palestine.

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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.

Palestine Action, which has been engaged in a legal battle with the United Kingdom after being designated a “terrorist” group by the British government, has rejected the US sanctions. Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, linked the US measures to the UK's designation. She stated that the sanctions should serve as a "wake-up call" for the UK to reverse its ban on the group.

"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," Ammori told Al Jazeera. She argued that the UK government's ban on a direct action protest group under terrorism legislation has created a blueprint for authoritarian governments to suppress dissent.

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By banning a direct action protest group under terrorism legislation for the first time in British history, Keir Starmer’s Government has created a blueprint for authoritarian governments around the world to suppress political dissent, and to criminalise British citizens who travel or live abroad.

The UK civil rights group Defend Our Juries echoed these concerns, warning that the ban on Palestine Action would embolden autocrats. They stated that while bowing to the arms industry and the Israel lobby, the UK government has encouraged Trump's crackdown on civil liberties.

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We’ve warned since July 2025 that Keir Starmer’s unprecedented ban on Palestine Action would embolden autocrats and demagogues around the world. Today that warning has proved to be well-founded.

Palestine Action employs direct-action tactics, including vandalism, to protest what it describes as complicity in Israel's actions in Gaza. Rights advocates argue that the "terrorism" designation is disproportionate and could stifle free speech. The UK has arrested thousands for supporting the group since it was proscribed last year. A British court initially revoked the designation, but the decision was overturned on appeal, and Palestine Action is pursuing the case in the UK Supreme Court.

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Far-left extremists, their fronts, and their enablers should be on notice: We will bring the full weight of our economic tools to bear. Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these grou