The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced this Wednesday sanctions against the British organization Palestine Action and two other entities, one of them based in Italy, with the intention of curbing the threat that, in its view, the extreme left terrorist groups represent for the security of the North American country.
"Extreme left extremists, their organizations, and their facilitators must be warned: we will apply the full weight of our economic tools," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement in which he emphasized that "political terrorism has no place" in their society.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Palestine Action --active in the United Kingdom and designated as a "terrorist" group by British authorities--, Autistici Inventati, based in Italy, and the transnational group Masar Badil, identified as a front for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), classified as "terrorist" by Washington, to its sanctions list.
According to the Treasury, Palestine Action "has supported numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020, including acts that have caused physical injuries to members of the British law enforcement, as well as actions aimed at intimidating legitimate businesses and coercing the Government of the United Kingdom."
Washington has emphasized that members of the organization "stormed defense infrastructures and British military facilities, causing damages valued in millions of dollars to military equipment." "Palestine Action has promoted violent, criminal, and terrorist acts on social media, encouraging the use of similar tactics internationally, even within the United States and along the border between the United States and Mexico," it added.
Regarding Autistici Inventati, the Treasury describes it as a "far-left organization based in Italy that provides a variety of tools and technological services to violent far-left groups," including encrypted email accounts and web hosting on foreign servers.
"Autistici Inventati is defined as an 'antifascist' and 'antimilitarist' organization opposed to capitalism, and provides its services exclusively to individuals, collectives, and groups previously selected that it considers aligned with its ideology, including sanctioned terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)," it has pointed out.
Regarding Masar Badil, the Treasury maintains that it is a transnational network that "also acts as a front for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoners Solidarity Network (Samidoun)," sanctioned by Washington in October 2024 for being "a front organization owned by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
"Masar Badil is intrinsically linked to Samidoun and one of its senior leaders has described it as part of the same political project. Both organizations share fundraising mechanisms, as well as senior leaders and members of their respective executive committees," it has noted.
Among the individuals affected by these measures are Jaled Barakat, Mohamed Jatib, and Jaldia Abubakra, already previously sanctioned by Washington, in addition to Said Abdulnaser, a resident of Germany, and Raua Alsagher, who lives in Brazil, added this Wednesday to the sanctions list.
The Treasury has explained that the purpose of this sanctions package is to "address" the rise of political terrorism and "dismantle the infrastructure that allows these groups to operate, coordinate, and propagate violence" across different countries.