The United States sanctioned this Tuesday four organizers of the Sumud Global Flotilla, which sought to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza, accusing them of supporting the Islamist group Hamas and undermining the peace efforts of the American President.
In a statement, the United States Department of the Treasury announced that it was imposing sanctions through the Office of Foreign Assets Control against “four individuals associated with the pro-Hamas flotilla,” whom it accuses of seeking to reach the Palestinian enclave “in support” of the Palestinian Islamists.
“The pro-terrorism flotilla attempting to reach Gaza is an absurd attempt to undermine President Trump’s successful progress toward a lasting peace in the region,” commented Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, quoted in the official press release.
The American government official also warned that Washington “will continue to cut off the global networks” of financial support to Hamas, “regardless of where they are located in the world.”
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Among the four individuals targeted by the American sanctions is the Spanish activist of Palestinian origin, Saif Hashim Kamel Abukeshek, who was previously detained in Israel at the beginning of May, and Hisham Abdallah Sulayman Abu Mahfuz, a resident of Spain. Both are identified as leaders of the Popular Conference of Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), an organization headquartered in Europe that has already been sanctioned by Washington.
Abukeshek also appears as a member of the steering committee of the humanitarian flotilla, which has attempted to break the blockade of the Palestinian Gaza Strip on several trips, while Abu Mahfuz performs the duties of acting secretary-general and president of the organization.
Washington furthermore imposed sanctions on Mohammed Khatib and Jaldia Abubakra Aueda, coordinators of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, an entity based in Belgium that, according to Washington, serves as a fundraising platform.
As a result of these measures, all assets and interests of the sanctioned individuals in the United States or under the control of United States citizens are blocked, and transactions with them are prohibited except with specific authorization.
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The latest flotilla, composed of more than 50 vessels carrying nearly 400 activists from around 40 countries, departed from Turkey on May 14 and was intercepted on Monday in international waters near Cyprus by Israel, which planned to transfer the participants to the port of Ashdod.
This attempt to reach the Gaza Strip comes after Israel intercepted another 20 boats near Crete, Greece, at the end of April with 175 activists on board, including Saif Abukeshek. Both Abukeshek and Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila, also a participant in the flotilla, were then detained by the Israeli Navy and taken to Israel, where they went on a hunger strike for ten days before being deported.
The Sumud Global Flotilla featured prominent public figures such as activist Greta Thunberg, actor Liam Cunningham, and the former mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, as well as members of the European Parliament and politicians from European and Latin American countries. In addition to the organizers of the Sumud Global Flotilla, the Treasury Department applied sanctions related to the Muslim Brotherhood network, which it describes as aligned with the ideology of Hamas.
The list includes a man identified as Marwan Abu Ras, named as the head of the Association of Palestinian Scholars, an organization created by Hamas in 2014 with the mission of ensuring that all religious discourse in Gaza conforms to its ideology. Three men identified as Karim Sayed Ahmed Moghny, Muhammad Yamal Hassan al-Najjar, and Ahmed Ewis Ahmed are accused of playing a key role in Hamas and founding HASM, a violent wing of the Muslim Brotherhood.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised on Monday the “exceptional work” of the Navy in intercepting the vessels, pointing out that their objective was to break the isolation of the Hamas terrorists. The Portuguese Government summoned on Monday the Israeli ambassador in Lisbon to protest against the detention, “in violation of international law,” of two Portuguese doctors who were part of the Sumud Global Flotilla.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, stated that the Government is monitoring the situation through the embassy in Tel Aviv and the consular services. A ceasefire entered into force in the Gaza Strip in October of last year under a United States plan supported by other mediating countries and the UN, but since then, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of successive violations of the understanding.
