US issues sanctions against UK-based direct action group Palestine Action
US labels group ‘global terrorist’ as its legal challenge against proscription in UK nears supreme court hearing The US has issued sanctions against the UK-based direct action organisation Palestine Action, describing it as a “transnational terror group”. The US Department of the Treasury labelled Palestine Action a specially designated global terrorist on Wednesday, which allows the US to freeze the assets of foreign individuals and entities. It comes after Palestine Action became the first direct action group to be proscribed under the UK’s Terrorism Act in July last year, placing it alongside the likes of Islamic State and Boko Haram. The UK ban is currently the subject of a legal challenge that will be heard by the UK supreme court in November. The powers used to sanction the organisation in the US were introduced by President George W Bush shortly after the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaida on the twin towers in New York.
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The US Treasury website said the group “has supported numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020, including acts that have physically injured UK law enforcement personnel, as well as acts intended to intimidate lawful commercial enterprises and coerce the UK government.
