The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four individuals on Tuesday for their ties to organizations the agency characterizes as front groups for Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The designations target key figures in the Gaza flotilla movement and mark another expansion of Washington’s financial pressure campaign against networks accused of funneling support to designated terrorist organizations.
The sanctioned individuals include Saif Hashim Kamel Abukishek, Hisham Abdallah Sulayman Abu Mahfuz, Mohammed Khatib, and Jaldia Abubakra Aueda. Their names have been added to OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, which means any property or interests they hold under US jurisdiction are now blocked, and American persons are prohibited from transacting with them.
The organizations behind the designations
Abukishek and Abu Mahfuz were designated for their association with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), which OFAC sanctioned back in January for allegedly functioning as a Hamas-directed front organization. The PCPA has supported Gaza-bound flotilla efforts, and Abukishek in particular has gained prominence as a leader within the Gaza Solidarity Flotilla (GSF) movement.
