![Protest against aid to Gaza Strip.](https://images.jfeed.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=jpeg,fit=contain,width=900/2024/07/11/90c5ef70-3f96-11ef-9b01-b9b61028cadd__h5760_w8640.jpg)
The State Department announced today (Thursday) that it was sanctioning the leader of the Tzav Tesha protest movement fighting aid to Gaza and Hamas before hostages are released, Reutn Ben Hayim, as well as Bentzi Gopstein, leader of the far-right Lehava group.
According to the State Department, these individuals are being sanctioned for "being involved in violence or threats of violence targeting civilians, seizure or dispossession of property by private actors, or actions that threaten the peace, stability and security of the West Bank; or being owned or controlled by an individual designated under this order."
According to Israel Hayom, Tzav Tesha responded to the sanctioning of its leader by saying that "The Biden administration decided to give a prize to Yahya Sinwar and we all need to stand against this madness."