Gaza War Update: This is the first time that the US has imposed sanctions on an Israeli group since the start of the Gaza war. The TSAV9 that was banned has been accused of obstructing humanitarian aid going to Gaza.
After Israel took control of Rafah, humanitarian aid from around the world has become dependent on Israel’s crossings. Many right-wing groups in Israel are targeting trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. The UN has warned several times that thousands of people in Gaza are on the verge of starvation and need immediate help. The US has taken a tough stand on groups obstructing humanitarian aid going to Gaza and has banned the Israeli organization TSAV9 and called it a violent, extremist Israeli group.
TSAV9 has blocked aid convoys to Gaza and attacked trucks. The US said that activists of the Israeli organization TSAV9 started obstructing the Kerem Shalom crossing at the beginning of the year and later also set trucks on fire. Apart from this, the US State Department also said that the group has also injured drivers and Israeli Defense Forces in its attacks.
Banning of TSAV9
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, “For months, members of TSAV9 have been trying to stop humanitarian aid going to Gaza, blocking roads, violently attacking aid convoys. They have also damaged aid trucks and thrown life-saving humanitarian aid on the road.” Elaborating on an attack on an aid convoy in the month of May, Miller said, “TSAV9 members looted and then set fire to two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza.” Due to these actions of TSAV, the US has imposed sanctions on it.
TSAV9 responded
Reacting to these sanctions, TSAV9 said, these sanctions are shocking and against any American and liberal values. The group also claimed that the aid going to Gaza is reaching Hamas and they are using it in the war against Israel. The stopping of humanitarian aid by TSAV9 has been condemned internationally. But the group is getting a lot of support inside Israel. Israeli media reports said that at the beginning of the year, two war cabinet members had proposed to temporarily stop humanitarian aid to weaken Hamas.
