Tzav 9, the civilian grassroots movement that rose to protest sending humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, has pressed newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump in an open letter on Monday to cease further assistance as long as Israeli hostages are still being held there.
Signed by Tzav 9 leaders Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid, the letter warned that the continued sending of aid only perpetuates Hamas rule.
“To cement its control, Hamas sells the supplies given to them by the world at high prices to civilians, thereby funding the war, controlling the population, and recruiting more hungry and wounded civilians into its ranks. It is illogical to continue providing aid, which only strengthens our enemy during wartime. This is not humanitarian aid to civilians,” they wrote.
Hamas has profited by at least a half billion dollars from humanitarian aid entering Gaza, Channel 12 reported in September.
On Sept. 4, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the press that Hamas steals food and other items for itself, keeping it from Palestinian residents of the Strip. “They charge exorbitant prices from the Gazans. And that’s how they continue, [or] they hope to continue, to survive. And we have to take that away from them,” he said.
Israel has not found a solution to Hamas’s commandeering of aid. Even so, Israel has not prevented aid from entering Gaza.
On Sunday alone, 630 trucks entered, Reuters reported. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that it would provide 12.5 million liters of fuel during the first 10 days of the ceasefire.
Tzav 9 engaged in non-violent protests aimed at blocking convoys until the hostages were released. As many as 75% of the convoys are diverted by Hamas and various criminal organizations in Gaza, says the group, citing government officials.
On June 14, the U.S. State Department sanctioned Tzav 9, which it labeled “a violent extremist Israeli group that has been blocking, harassing and damaging convoys carrying lifesaving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
Tzav 9’s leaders appealed to Trump to lift those sanctions, saying they were “based on misleading reports about the peaceful and legitimate democratic protests the movement led.”
“On a personal level, they seek relief from these unjustified sanctions that, they argue, have had a severe impact on their lives and livelihoods which absurdly put them, lawful Israeli citizens, at the same level as renowned terrorists of global scale,” according to a Tzav 9 press release.
