U.S. Sanctions Palestine Action And Masar Badil As NGO Monitor Urges Europe To Follow

Peloni:  As is true with the sanctions on Iran, the sanctions placed on the Palestine Action must be airtight, preventing countering sanctions strategies by the organization.  Otherwise, as has been true with Iran over the years, the use of sanctions simply limits the financial capabilities rather than eliminating those capabilities.  Economic D-Day should serve as a clarification of what sanctioning by the US Treasury should mean, but not just for the Iranian regime.

See also ASFI‘s statement of support for the sanctions on Palestine Action at the bottom.

The Treasury Department says Palestine Action supported terrorist acts and Masar Badil operates on behalf of the Samidoun network linked to the PFLP.

By: TheJ.ca Staff | TheJ.ca | August 27, 2026

Facade of the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. The statue of Albert Gallatin, the first Secretary of the Treasury, is in the foreground. By AgnosticPreachersKid – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned Palestine Action and Masar Badil under federal counterterrorism authorities, accusing the two organizations of supporting terrorism and operating within networks linked to designated terrorist groups.

The August 26 action by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, also targeted Italy-based Autistici Inventati and two senior Masar Badil figures, Rawa Alsagheer and Zaid Abdulnasser. Treasury said the measures are part of a broader effort to disrupt what it described as violent far-left terrorist networks.

“Political terrorism has no place in our society,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding that the United States would use economic tools to cut off the financial lifelines of extremist groups.

NGO Monitor welcomed the sanctions and said the decision reflected concerns it has raised through research into organizational networks, funding and extremist affiliations.

“NGO Monitor welcomes today’s U.S. Treasury sanctions against Palestine Action and Masar Badil,” the organization said in a statement provided to TheJ.Ca.

“The decision follows extensive research documenting the networks, funding, and extremist affiliations of these organizations, as well as our recent exposés highlighting their terror links and activities.”

NGO Monitor called on European governments to take similar action.

“The NGO framework must not be exploited to support violence and hate,” the organization said.

Treasury Says Palestine Action Supported Terrorist Acts

Treasury said Palestine Action, a British organization founded in 2020, had supported what the department classified as numerous acts of terrorism since July 2020.

According to OFAC, those actions included incidents in which British police officers were injured, break-ins at defence infrastructure and military installations, and damage to military equipment costing millions of dollars. Treasury also said the organization promoted violent and criminal tactics online and encouraged their use internationally.

The United Kingdom proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization in July 2025 under the Terrorism Act 2000. Treasury said the U.S. sanctions complement that British action.

OFAC designated Palestine Action under Executive Order 13224 for materially assisting, sponsoring or providing support for acts of terrorism.

The U.S. government emphasized that its sanctions regime does not target constitutionally protected political expression.

Treasury cited OFAC guidance stating that political speech is not sanctionable merely because it is controversial or extremist. The department said its action instead concerns conduct involving violence, danger to human life, property or infrastructure intended to intimidate civilians or coerce governments.

Masar Badil Linked to Samidoun and PFLP

Treasury’s findings concerning Masar Badil carry particular significance for Canada.

OFAC described Masar Badil as a transnational organization acting as a front for the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

Canada and the United States jointly sanctioned Samidoun in October 2024 after authorities said it served as a front organization controlled or directed by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP. The United States has designated the PFLP as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 1997.

Treasury said Masar Badil is “inextricably linked” to Samidoun and that the two organizations share fundraising mechanisms, senior leaders and executive committee members.

OFAC therefore designated Masar Badil for being owned, controlled or directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, Samidoun.

Alsagheer and Abdulnasser were sanctioned as leaders or officials of Masar Badil.

NGO Monitor has previously documented Masar Badil’s public advocacy and organizational relationships, including statements supporting armed Palestinian “resistance” and links with figures associated with Samidoun and the PFLP.

Toronto Event Raises Canadian Questions

The U.S. action comes months before Masar Badil is scheduled to hold an event in Toronto.

NGO Monitor reported in June that Masar Badil had announced a November 2026 Toronto gathering titled “3 Years of Al-Aqsa Flood: Resistance & Return From the Belly of the Beast.”

According to NGO Monitor, the event was promoted as bringing together “militants, organizations, diasporas, and internationalists” and was framed around the third anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

NGO Monitor called at the time for Canadian authorities to investigate the organization and ensure Canadian territory was not being used to organize, fundraise, recruit or promote violence.

The new U.S. designation is likely to increase scrutiny of that planned gathering.

Canada has already sanctioned Samidoun, which Treasury now says is directly tied to Masar Badil. However, Masar Badil itself has not been publicly listed by Canada as a terrorist entity as of this writing.

That distinction could become increasingly important if the Toronto event proceeds.

What the Sanctions Mean

The designations carry significant financial consequences.

Any property or interests in property belonging to the designated entities that are located in the United States or controlled by U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC.

Entities that are owned 50 percent or more by sanctioned persons are also blocked.

U.S. persons are generally prohibited from conducting transactions involving the designated organizations unless authorized by OFAC. Foreign financial institutions may also face sanctions exposure if they knowingly facilitate significant transactions for sanctioned entities.

Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties.

Treasury also said contributions of funds, goods or services to sanctioned entities are generally prohibited.

NGO Monitor Calls for European Action

NGO Monitor’s response focused heavily on Europe.

The Jerusalem-based research organization said European governments should examine organizations operating within similar networks and ensure that civil-society and NGO structures are not used to facilitate extremist or violent activity.

The group has repeatedly argued that some nongovernmental organizations operating in the Israeli-Palestinian arena maintain political or personnel links to designated terrorist organizations while receiving international funding.

NGO Monitor says its research has tracked such relationships through financial disclosures, leadership overlaps, public statements and organizational partnerships.

The organization’s statement on the Treasury action framed the sanctions as validation of that approach.

Broader U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy

Treasury said the action forms part of a wider U.S. policy shift toward confronting politically motivated violence from far-left extremist networks.

The department said the 2026 U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy identifies violent far-left organizations as one of the three major terrorist threats facing the country.

That policy has already produced sanctions and designations against a range of groups and facilitators accused of providing technological, organizational or financial support for violence.

Autistici Inventati, the third organization sanctioned Wednesday, was accused of providing encrypted communications, hosting services and digital infrastructure to violent extremist networks, including organizations already designated for terrorism.

The inclusion of Palestine Action and Masar Badil broadens that campaign into organizations active in anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian political networks.

From Advocacy to Counterterrorism Enforcement

The Treasury announcement marks a significant escalation in how the two organizations are treated legally.

Palestine Action had already been outlawed in Britain.

Masar Badil had already faced scrutiny because of its links to Samidoun and the PFLP.

The August 26 sanctions now place both organizations directly within the U.S. counterterrorism sanctions system.

For NGO Monitor, the development reinforces its argument that governments need to look beyond how organizations describe themselves publicly and examine their funding networks, leadership structures and relationships with extremist movements.

For Canada, the Masar Badil designation creates an immediate policy question.

A group that the United States says acts on behalf of a network already sanctioned jointly by Ottawa and Washington is currently planning an event in Toronto.

Whether Canadian authorities will take further action against Masar Badil remains to be seen.

---

Support For Treasury Sanctions Against Palestine Action

ASFI | Aug 27, 2026

NEW YORK – A leading pro-Israel organization has come out strongly in support of the recent U.S. government sanctions against the Palestine Action organization. Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI) has called this decision “necessary” and one that “should be praised by all Americans concerned about the growing threat of terrorism.” The full Treasury department statement is online: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0616/.

---