The US Treasury imposed sanctions today against two firms in Gaza - Islamic National Bank and Al-Aqsa Television - for their ties to the ruling Hamas movement. The Treasury said the sanctions prohibit Americans from transactions with the entities and seek to freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction. The Treasury lists Hamas, which rules Gaza, as a “specially designated global terrorist” organization.
The Treasury said Al-Aqsa Television station is financed and controlled by Hamas and serves as a primary Hamas media outlet that airs programmes “designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood.” It said Hamas leadership raised initial capital for the station in 2006 and late last year allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for its operating budget.
“Treasury will not distinguish between a business financed and controlled by a terrorist group, such as Al-Aqsa Television, and the terrorist group itself,” said Stuart Levey, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.
(Source: Reuters)
