WASHINGTON, Friday, June 14, 2024 (WAFA) – The US announced today that it would impose sanctions on an extremist Israeli group of colonists that has been behind attacks on humanitarian aid shipments en route to Gaza, according to the US State Department.

The sanctions will target the Tsav 9 movement over blocking harassing and damaging aid shipments intended for the war-torn blockaded Gaza Strip.

The Department of State is today designating Tzav 9, a violent extremist Israeli group that has been blocking, harassing, and damaging convoys carrying lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

“For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blockading roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including in the West Bank.  They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road,” he added.

The US State Department recalled that on May 13, 2024, Tzav 9 members looted and then set fire to two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid destined for men, women, and children in Gaza.

“The provision of humanitarian assistance is vital to preventing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening and to mitigating the risk of famine,” he added.

He pledged that his country would not “tolerate acts of sabotage and violence targeting this essential humanitarian assistance” and would “continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or undertake such heinous acts.”

K.F.