US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced today (Tuesday) that the US and the UK will impose additional sanctions on groups and individuals associated with Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza. According to the US government's statement, the new sanctions are designed to prevent Hamas from exploiting the international economic systems for the promotion and financing of terrorism.
The new sanctions will be imposed on seven people and two organizations who supported or financially assisted Hamas or Islamic Jihad. It was also said that the head of the Islamic Jihad's military arm, Akram al-Ajouri, was declared a "special global terrorist".
In the message, Blinken also attacked Iran and said that "its support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, mainly through the transfer of funds and means of combat and military training, enables the terrorist actions of these organizations. Iran trained jihad fighters and instructed them on how to manufacture rockets in Gaza, and also financed groups who supported the fighters of the Islamic Jihad."
As you may recall, last month the US Treasury Department announced that it would impose new sanctions on 9 Hamas operatives and organizations involved in transferring money to the terrorist organization. The announcement stated that the sanctions are intended to make it difficult for Hamas to raise funds from abroad and transfer funds around the world.
According to the ministry's statement, the 9 activists on whom the sanctions were imposed are residents of Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria, and Qatar. The list published by the American ministry also included the name of Hamas commander Ayman Nofal, who was killed the day before in Gaza by IDF forces.
"The United States continues to act quickly and decisively to arrest those who finance the terrorism of Hamas after the brutal massacre of Israeli civilians," said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. "We will continue to take every possible step to ensure that Hamas terrorists cannot raise and use funds to commit atrocities and threats on the citizens of Israel".