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 increases in the besieged Palestinian territory.
President Joe Biden's administration on Friday targeted Tzav 9, a group whose stated goal is to prevent any aid from entering Gaza. He accused the group of looting and burning aid trucks.
“The provision of humanitarian assistance is vital to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening and to mitigate the risk of famine,” the State Department said in a statement.
“The government of Israel has the responsibility to ensure the safety of humanitarian convoys transiting Israel and the West Bank en route to Gaza. “We will not tolerate acts of sabotage and violence against this essential humanitarian assistance.”
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 pushed to prevent law enforcement from protecting aid convoys to Gaza.
For months, right-wing Israelis have been protesting and blocking roads to prevent aid shipments from reaching Gaza, which is under a suffocating Israeli blockade. The efforts have further strained the flow of aid that the territory desperately needs.
In recent weeks, protesters have stepped up their attacks on convoys, especially as they pass through the occupied West Bank. Last month, two aid trucks were set on fire in the Hebron Hills area, an attack the US State Department attributed to 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 (EO) issued by Biden that established a legal framework for US sanctions against individuals and entities that “undermine peace, security and stability” in the occupied West Bank.
Last week, the Biden administration invoked the same order to sanction the Palestinian armed group Lion's Den.
Still, 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 executive order,” Van Hollen said.
The Finance Minister has withheld taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority and, in March, declared 800 hectares (1,977 acres) in the West Bank to be Israeli state land.
“You have this person whose stated goal is essentially for Israel to take over the entire West Bank,” Van Hollen told the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), an advocacy organization that recommended sanctioning Tzav 9, welcomed Friday's actions and called on Biden to also focus on entities and individuals that help fund 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 famine strategy is coordinated from young settler activists to the highest levels of government. Israeli. Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, research director for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said in a statement.
“The United States should no longer ignore the Israeli government's involvement in these crimes and should apply sanctions to Ben-Gvir next.”
Human rights advocates also called on Washington to pressure Israel to lift its siege of Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week that Israel has taken “significant steps” in recent months to remove obstacles to aid delivery in Gaza, but acknowledged that it “can and must do more.”
“It is crucial to speed up truck inspection and reduce delays, provide greater clarity on – and shorten the list – of prohibited goods, increase visas for aid workers and process them more quickly,” he told an aid conference in Gaza. conference in Jordan on Tuesday.
Blinken also urged “clearer and more effective channels” to protect humanitarian workers from military operations.
