The United States is set to impose sanctions on the “Tsav 9” Israeli protest movement, which has blocked some aid shipments to the Gaza Strip in recent weeks in protest against aid being stolen by Hamas, the hostage-takers.
The Biden administration has already imposed sanctions on Israel for “extremist settler violence” targeting individuals who have not been convicted of any crime, while giving billions of dollars in sanctions relief to terrorist-supporting Iran.
The Israel Times report Friday:
The Biden administration is expected to announce sanctions later today against the Israeli far-right group behind the attack on a humanitarian aid convoy heading to Gaza, a US official confirmed to The Times of Israel.
The sanctions target Tsav 9, a group with ties to Israeli military reservists and Israeli settlers, for activities including disrupting, harassing and destroying aid shipments.
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“For months, members of Tsav 9 have repeatedly attempted to disrupt the delivery of humanitarian supplies to Gaza, sometimes violently blocking roads along the route from Jordan to Gaza, including through the West Bank,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement seen by Reuters.
The anti-Israel group Democracy for the Arab World (DAWN) claimed credit for encouraging the sanctions.
“We welcome the Biden Administration’s announcement of sanctions against the extremist and violent group Tsav 9, and have provided documentation of this to the Treasury Department,” said Michael Omerman, director of Israeli-Palestinian studies at DAWN.
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“Tsav 9’s violent attacks to block humanitarian aid to Gaza would not have been possible without the smooth-running network of companies and entities that fund and support them,” said DAWN Executive Director Sarah Leah Whitson. “We will continue to urge the regime to impose sanctions on the companies and entities financing these heinous attacks.”
“Sanctioning Israeli settlers involved in attacks on humanitarian aid to Gaza is an important first step, but settlers are not alone,” said Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for DAWN. “The U.S. government should now impose sanctions on Israeli officials, organizations and companies with ties to these violent Israeli extremists.”
The term “Tsav 9” refers to a call-up order for military reservists.
DAWN was founded by Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist and activist who was killed by Saudi Arabian agents in Turkey in 2018. He was known to have had Islamist ties; explanation He is against extremism.
DAWN Connected The sanctions are separate from other sanctions imposed by the State Department on Israel. Israeli critics say the State Department is providing information based on DAWN reports that have not been independently verified.
The protests have not disrupted aid to Gaza, with Israeli officials saying enough aid reaches the area every day to feed its entire population. A recent poll of Palestinians found that 64% could get enough food for one or two days.
But the aid is deeply unpopular in Israel, where many Israelis believe it prolongs the war by providing food and fuel to Hamas, which is believed to be stealing much of the aid, while denying Israeli hostages proper nutrition.
The new sanctions will be met with alarm in Israel because Tsav 9 is widely seen as a peaceful movement with significant public support, and its only act of violence has been the dumping of supplies from aid trucks onto the road.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He recently published an e-book,The Zionist Conspiracy (And How to Join It)” is available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Not Free or Fair: The 2020 US Presidential ElectionHe is the recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship in 2018. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
