US, UK impose new sanctions on Hamas-linked people, businesses

The US and UK have today imposed a new set of sanctions on individuals and bodies which they say have links to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

In a statement the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it “imposed its third round of sanctions targeting Hamas-affiliated individuals and entities” since 7 October.

“This action designates key Hamas officials and the mechanisms by which Iran provides support to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Today’s designations are coordinated with action by the UK and are aimed at protecting the international financial system from abuse by Hamas and their enablers. The US Department of State is concurrently designating a leader of PIJ’s military wing,” it added.

Britain added six new designations to its counter-terrorism sanctions list, including four individuals linked to Hamas, an update to the UK government website showed.

“The United States will continue to work with our partners, including the UK, to deny Hamas the ability to raise and use funds to carry out its atrocities,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

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Washington’s action specifically targeted Mahmoud Khaled Zahhar, a senior member and co-founder of Hamas, the PIJ’s representative to Iran and the Damascus-based Deputy Secretary General of PIJ and leader of its militant wing.

Lebanon-based money exchange company Nabil Chouman & Co was also targeted, along with its owner and founder. The Treasury said Hamas uses the company to transfer money from Iran to Gaza and accused it of having transferred tens of millions of dollars to the group.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a separate statement, said Iran’s support enables Hamas and PIJ activities, including through the transfer of funds and the provision of weapons and operational training, adding that Tehran had trained PIJ fighters to produce and develop missiles in Gaza.

Washington’s move freezes any US assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those who engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.