The United States has placed several individuals allegedly linked to Hamas on its sanctions list, including European-based operatives, the State Department announced Wednesday.
Activist Saif Abu Keshek, Reuters/Amir Cohen
The United States has placed several individuals allegedly linked to Hamas on its sanctions list, including European-based operatives, the State Department announced Wednesday.
The designations target three categories of actors: organisers of a Hamas-backed flotilla attempting to reach Gaza; members of Muslim Brotherhood networks aligned with Hamas that facilitate violent terrorist attacks; and coordinators of Samidoun, described by Washington as a front organisation for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Among those sanctioned is Mohammed Khatib, European coordinator of Samidoun, based in Belgium, where authorities had already sought to strip him of refugee status two years ago. Samidoun presents itself as an international network advocating for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Also targeted is Saif Abu Keshek, a Spain-based activist who participated in a Gaza flotilla recently intercepted by the Israeli navy off Greece. He was taken to Israel on suspicion of Hamas ties before being expelled to Barcelona.
"Today's action highlights how Hamas exploits diaspora organisations, religious institutions and so-called civil society groups to advance its malign agenda while invoking humanitarian objectives," the State Department said.
Under US sanctions, any assets held in the United States are frozen and American citizens and companies are prohibited from conducting business with the designated individuals — on pain of secondary sanctions.
All 430 members of the Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by the Israeli navy off Cyprus on Monday are now en route to Israel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced early Wednesday.
The gap between funding pledges and disbursement for Donald Trump's Gaza rebuilding plan must be closed urgently, the U.S. president's "Board of Peace" has said in a report, identifying a potential cash crunch in a plan estimated to cost $70 billion.
The organisers of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza said on Tuesday Israeli forces had intercepted 41 of their boats in the eastern Mediterranean, with 10 vessels still sailing toward the enclave.
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