“Political terrorism has no place in our society, and we will continue to cut the financial lifelines of these groups until they are eliminated.”
So said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on August 26. Was he coming out against Trump’s decision to drop sanctions against the former al-Qaeda commander, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Julani? Of course not! He was referring to Trump’s designation of Palestine Action, a direct action group in the UK, as an “international terrorist organization.”
Palestine Action rose to prominence after activists broke into a military base and spray-painted some jets in protest of Britain’s support for Israel. For this, the group was proscribed by Keir Starmer’s Labour government in 2025. To date, more than 3,500 people have been arrested for the “crime” of merely expressing support for Palestine Action.
Meanwhile, al-Sharaa got his start as an al-Qaeda militant in 2003 before forming his own reactionary jihadist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which overthrew the Syrian government in 2024.
He’s responsible for the mass killing of civilians and sectarian massacres of Alawites and Druze. These little details didn’t stop Trump from cozying up to him. When the two met in July, Trump said, “He’s a strong person, a great leader. He’s respected by everybody, including me, and we are proud to have him.”
In contrast, Trump has nothing but venom for anyone struggling against US imperialism. He threatened to cut funding for universities he deemed to be insufficiently brutal in quashing pro-Palestine protests, sent ICE after activists, and revoked the visas of over 300 students to punish them for opposing the genocide. The terror designation of Palestine Action is just the latest in a string of attacks on basic democratic rights.
Our British comrades have been on the front lines of the struggle against the persecution of Palestine Action. Fiona Lali, a leading comrade of the Revolutionary Communist Party, appeared on GB News USA to denounce Trump’s attack:
The most barbaric, violent terrorist organization on the planet is the US government itself. And the fact that it can go around making these announcements about other groups is a reflection of this dystopian world that we live in … It comes from a position of weakness. The general clampdown on the Palestine movement—which is a clampdown on freedom of speech—reflects the fact that the majority of people actually support those who take direct action against the genocide … And Palestine Action—what wars have they started? Who have they harmed?
Trump and the rest of the ruling class are the real terrorists. They are attacking the pro-Palestine movement out of fear. Their normal methods of control—the media, the education system, and the lies of politicians—are becoming increasingly ineffective, so they are compelled to resort to direct repression. This carries risks for the ruling class. Each attack further exposes the real face of the class enemy.