The Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) has expressed “profound dismay” and “unequivocal rejection” of a decision by the US Department of the Treasury to sanction it over its role in organising Gaza aid flotillas.
In a statement on Saturday, the PCPA said the designation is a unilateral administrative measure, not based on any judicial ruling or binding international resolution.
It insisted that the decision does not affect the legitimacy of the conference’s work, which it says is carried out in full compliance with the legal frameworks of the countries in which it operates.
The organisation described the move as part of a “continued pattern of political targeting against Palestinian structures and organisations operating abroad”, particularly amid growing international solidarity with Palestinians during the Israeli war on Gaza.
The PCPA reaffirmed its commitment to continue its peaceful, rights-based activities, stating that Palestine remains its “moral and political compass” and that efforts to distort or defame it will not undermine the justice of the Palestinian cause.
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The US Treasury on Wednesday announced it is sanctioning six Palestinian aid organisations in Gaza that it accuses of being part of a “covert support network” for Hamas through its military wing, the Qassam Brigades.
The PCPA was also named in the announcement, which says it has been the coordinator of the flotillas that have sailed to Gaza in an attempt to break the nearly two-decade-old Israeli siege of the enclave.
The treasury called it “a front organization for Hamas [that] operates in accordance with Hamas directives”, citing a 2018 letter from the late Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, which points to the PCPA as a useful tool for Hamas’ international outreach.
The body’s founder, the UK-based Zaher Birawi, was also sanctioned on the same day.
Majed al-Zeer, vice president of the PCPA, said the Trump administration’s decision “represents a new and blind extension of US policy in absolute support of the Israeli occupation and its arbitrary, illegal, and inhumane actions against the Palestinian people”.
He told Al Jazeera Net that the move is an attempt to restrict Palestinians from reclaiming their rights through legal and internationally recognised channels.
Charity groups sanctioned
The sanctions on Wednesday also identified six other groups: Waed Society, Al-Nur, Qawafil, Al-Falah, Merciful Hands and Al-Salameh.
It said members of Hamas’ internal security forces are “formally assigned to work in these so-called charities, specifically the Waed Society and Al-Salameh”, and that Merciful Hands, Al-Nur, and Al-Falah “have directly transferred money to the Hamas military wing”.
Qawafil is said to “complete projects that are intended to benefit Hamas”.
The websites and Facebook pages of these groups show projects designed to help amputees from a series of wars in Gaza, as well as advocacy campaigns for Palestinians held in Israel.
Merciful Hands and Al-Salameh provide medical support for critical war wounds, while Qawafil is a food and medicine distributor.
Al-Falah holds community support sessions and training courses to develop technical skills. The Waed Society and Al-Nur work to raise awareness and push for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.
They all operate in Gaza, where Hamas has been leading the government since 1997.
Hamas was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) in the US in October 1997.
The designations mean that all assets belonging to sanctioned groups or individuals in the US are frozen, and access to the US banking system is blocked, rendering credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard unusable.
Additionally, US residents are prohibited from carrying out any transactions with, or on behalf of, sanctioned entities.