Biden administration imposes sanctions on Israeli group blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza

CNN —

The Biden administration on Friday imposed sanctions on an Israeli group for disrupting humanitarian convoys headed to Gaza.

Both the US Treasury Department and the US State Department took action against the Tzav 9 movement for its repeated obstruction of the aid.

The sanctions against the organization are the latest punitive measure taken under an executive order targeting those perpetrating violence in the West Bank. They come as the US continues to grapple with the crisis in Gaza, where humanitarian officials say the situation has reached one of its lowest points in the entire eight-month conflict

The Tzav 9 movement, a grouping of demobilized reservists, families of hostages and settlers, has been leading protests to disrupt the critical aid convoys at Kerem Shalom, the country’s sole functioning border crossing with Gaza. Its name, meaning “Order 9,” is a reference to the emergency mobilization notices that call up reservists.

At the end of February, the area was declared a closed military zone, due to international pressure, but protesters continued to arrive and try to outmaneuver the police.

“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,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Friday.

“They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road. 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,” he said.

Miller said the Israeli government “has a