Washington DC – The United States has imposed sanctions on an Israeli “violent extremist” group for blocking and damaging humanitarian aid convoys to Gaza as the risk of famine rises in the besieged Palestinian territory.
President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday targeted Tzav 9, a group whose stated goal is to prevent aid from entering Gaza. He accused the group of looting and burning aid trucks.
“The provision of humanitarian assistance is vital to preventing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening and to mitigating the risk of famine,” the State Department said in a statement.
“The Israeli government has the responsibility to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian convoys transiting through Israel and the West Bank towards Gaza. We will not tolerate acts of sabotage and violence targeting this essential humanitarian aid.
The sanctions were announced a day after Israeli media quoted Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai as saying that far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had pushed to prevent the forces from order to protect aid convoys heading to Gaza.
For months, right-wing Israelis have been protesting and blocking roads to prevent aid deliveries from reaching Gaza, which is under a stifling Israeli blockade. These efforts have further reduced the flow of aid the territory desperately needs.
In recent weeks, protesters have intensified their attacks on convoys, particularly those passing through the occupied West Bank. Last month, they set fire to two humanitarian aid trucks in the Hebron Hills region, an attack the US State Department blamed on Tzav 9.
The sanctions block the group’s assets in the United States and largely prohibit American citizens from transacting with them. They were imposed under an executive order issued by Biden that establishes a legal framework for US sanctions against individuals and entities “undermining peace, security and stability” in the occupied West Bank.
Last week, the Biden administration invoked the same order to sanction the Lion’s Den, a Palestinian armed group.
Yet Washington has resisted calls to penalize Israeli officials responsible for abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Ben-Gvir and ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
This month, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen urged the Biden administration to use the executive order to target Smotrich.
“In my opinion, Smotrich should be subject to sanctions under this EO,” Van Hollen said.
The finance minister withheld taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority, and in March he declared 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in the West Bank as Israeli state land.
“You have this person whose stated goal is basically for Israel to take over the entire West Bank,” Van Hollen said at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an advocacy organization that has recommended sanctioning Tzav 9, welcomed Friday’s measures and called on Biden to also target entities and individuals that help finance and enable the group.
“Recent revelations that Israeli Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered police to stand down and allow Tzav 9 to block humanitarian aid convoys show how this despicable strategy of starvation is being coordinated from young settler activists up to the highest levels of the Israeli government. Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, research director for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said in a statement.
“The United States should not continue to ignore the Israeli government’s involvement in these crimes and should then apply sanctions to Ben-Gvir. »
Human rights advocates have also called on Washington to pressure Israel to lift its siege on Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that Israel had taken “significant steps” in recent months to remove obstacles to the delivery of aid to Gaza, but he acknowledged that it “can and had to do more.”
“It is crucial to speed up truck inspections and reduce delays, provide more clarity on and shorten the list of prohibited goods, increase visas for aid workers and process them more quickly,” he said at a Gaza aid conference. conference in Jordan on Tuesday.
Blinken also called for “clearer and more effective channels” to protect aid workers from military operations.
