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US sanctions far-right Israeli group accused of blocking Gaza aid
The US has added Tzav 9 to its sanctions list of specially designated nationals. The group has ties to Israeli army reservists and Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank and has been sanctioned over activities including blocking, harassing and damaging aid shipments bound for Gaza, the US Treasury Department said.
On Thursday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “total outrage that there are people who are attacking and looting these convoys”. “It is completely and utterly unacceptable behaviour,” he said, specifically referring to an incident in which the group blocked aid as it went through the Tarqumiyah checkpoint near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.
Democracy for the Arab World Now, a US-based human rights group, this week called for the US to take action against Tzav 9 and other groups it said have enjoyed impunity from Israeli authorities.
Sanctions on far-right Israeli group a warning shot from US
These are direct sanctions against a right-wing Israeli group which does have connections to the very top of the Israeli government, in particular the minister of national secretary, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is linked with nongovernmental organisations which are very close to Tzav 9.
Now Tzav 9 means “Order Nine”. This is a reference to the call-up papers that are given to Israeli military reserves. Now that indicates a link – informal as it may be – with Israeli security.
Now we do know that Ben-Gvir has ordered the police and army not to police aid convoys on their way from Jordan to Gaza. On the occasions in which “Order Nine” attacked these convoys, the police and army did not interfere.
So this is a warning shot, if you will, from the Biden administration, which has been concerned about some of the actions of the right-wing ministers within the Netanyahu government.
Support for settlers destroying aid is found even within Israel’s government
Order Nine has released a statement saying that this is a blow to those who are relatives of the kidnapped and that Israel has a right to defend itself. Now, this has been a group that has continuously not only been blocking aid, but assaulting Palestinian drivers of these aid trucks.
And while there has been no official response from the Israeli government, we have seen, in fact, support for this protest movement, even though it is by far-right activists and Israelis from illegal settlements. Previously, we’ve heard a member of Israel’s ruling Likud party saying that he would join these demonstrations.
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the country’s national security minister, ultra-nationalist and settler himself, has said that he supports the protesters’ right to demonstrate. But it’s quite a contrast from the demonstrations we see every Saturday in Tel Aviv, where he calls those protesters anarchists.
The Israelis have previously not reacted very well to any sort of news of American sanctions on any sort of Israeli group. The United States is trying to show Israel that they are not going to tolerate certain actions and behaviours by individuals or groups like far-right Israelis.
After US sanctions Tzav 9, rights group says Ben-Gvir should be next
Representatives from Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a US-based rights group, have hailed the US move to sanction the far-right Israeli group for blocking aid convoys bound for Gaza.
But Michael Omer-Man, the director of research for Israel-Palestine at the organisation, said Washington must go further in targeting similar groups and Israeli government officials who enable their actions.
“Recent revelations that Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ordered police to stand down and allow Tzav 9 to block humanitarian aid convoys show how this despicable strategy of starvation is coordinated from young settler activists all the way up to the highest levels of the Israeli government,” Omer-Man said in a statement.
“The US should not continue to ignore Israeli government involvement in these crimes and should apply sanctions to Ben Gvir next,” he said. Tzav 9 is affiliated with groups close to the far-right minister.
Added Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director, “Sanctioning Israeli settlers involved in attacks on humanitarian aid to Gaza is an important first step, but these settlers are not lone wolves.”
