State Department urges activists to ship aid though "established and efficient" means, says US backs Israel's right to screen cargo.
WASHINGTON – The US State Department on Friday warned activists planning to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza that they risked criminal prosecution if they carried through with their attempt.
“Delivering or attempting or conspiring to deliver material support or other resources to or for the benefit of a designated foreign terrorist organization, such as Hamas, could violate US civil and criminal statutes and could lead to fines and incarceration,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement issues as a flotilla prepares to set out from Europe to Gaza, which Hamas runs.
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She strongly criticized the activists trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, who say they want to provide humanitarian supplies to civilians there, and urged them to use other means of transferring aid to the Palestinians.
“Groups that seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers,” she said.
American citizens are reported to be among the participants of the flotilla, which is intended to commemorate a similar operation that left nine Turkish citizens, one of them who had dual citizenship with the US, dead after a confrontation with the IDF one year ago.
“Established and efficient mechanisms exist to transfer humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” Nuland said in her statement. “We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla.”
The Obama administration has long pushed Israel to offer a more open flow of goods to Gaza, but Nuland said that while the US remains concerned about the conditions in the coastal strip, “the humanitarian situation has significantly improved over the last year.”
She also pointed to the recent seizures of weapons bound for Gaza from the sea. “These seizures underscore the vital importance to Israel’s security of ensuring that all cargo bound for Gaza is appropriately screened for illegal arms and dual-use materials,” she said.
Nuland also called on Hamas to meet the Quartet principles of renouncing violence, recognizing Israel’s right to exist, and accepting past agreements.
In addition to Nuland’s criticism, the White House on Friday also leveled its own attack on Hamas.
White House press secretary Jay Carney described the group as “in violation of the standards of basic decency and international humanitarian demands” for holding abducted IDF soldier Gilad Schalit for five years without any access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“As the anniversary of his capture approaches, the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms his continued detention, and joins other governments and international organizations around the world in calling on Hamas to release him immediately,” Carney said in his statement.
“Delivering or attempting or conspiring to deliver material support or other resources to or for the benefit of a designated foreign terrorist organization, such as Hamas, could violate US civil and criminal statutes and could lead to fines and incarceration,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement issues as a flotilla prepares to set out from Europe to Gaza, which Hamas runs.
RELATED:
Israel’s envoys to US, UN justify Gaza blockade
‘European ship to Egypt shows flotilla is provocation’
She strongly criticized the activists trying to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, who say they want to provide humanitarian supplies to civilians there, and urged them to use other means of transferring aid to the Palestinians.
“Groups that seek to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza are taking irresponsible and provocative actions that risk the safety of their passengers,” she said.
American citizens are reported to be among the participants of the flotilla, which is intended to commemorate a similar operation that left nine Turkish citizens, one of them who had dual citizenship with the US, dead after a confrontation with the IDF one year ago.
“Established and efficient mechanisms exist to transfer humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” Nuland said in her statement. “We urge all those seeking to provide such assistance to the people of Gaza to use these mechanisms, and not to participate in actions like the planned flotilla.”
The Obama administration has long pushed Israel to offer a more open flow of goods to Gaza, but Nuland said that while the US remains concerned about the conditions in the coastal strip, “the humanitarian situation has significantly improved over the last year.”
She also pointed to the recent seizures of weapons bound for Gaza from the sea. “These seizures underscore the vital importance to Israel’s security of ensuring that all cargo bound for Gaza is appropriately screened for illegal arms and dual-use materials,” she said.
Nuland also called on Hamas to meet the Quartet principles of renouncing violence, recognizing Israel’s right to exist, and accepting past agreements.
In addition to Nuland’s criticism, the White House on Friday also leveled its own attack on Hamas.
White House press secretary Jay Carney described the group as “in violation of the standards of basic decency and international humanitarian demands” for holding abducted IDF soldier Gilad Schalit for five years without any access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“As the anniversary of his capture approaches, the United States condemns in the strongest possible terms his continued detention, and joins other governments and international organizations around the world in calling on Hamas to release him immediately,” Carney said in his statement.
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