Rights advocate accuses Washington of using ‘terrorism label’ to shut down Palestine activism internationally.

The United States has imposed sanctions on four activists for their involvement in the aid flotillas trying to break Israel’s siege on Gaza, alleging without evidence that organisers of the aid vessels are trying to reach the Palestinian territory “in support of Hamas”.

The sanctions on Tuesday come as the Israeli military continues to intercept the latest fleet of Gaza-bound ships.

While the humanitarian crisis from the Israeli blockade on Gaza has eased since the “ceasefire” brokered by US President Donald Trump came into effect in October, Palestinians have continued to suffer from shortages, including in food and medical supplies.

International activists have been sailing towards Gaza in an effort to deliver humanitarian assistance while also showing solidarity with the population there after Israel’s genocidal war on the territory.

“The pro-terror flotilla attempting to reach Gaza is a ludicrous attempt to undermine President Trump’s successful progress toward lasting peace in the region,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Treasury will continue to sever Hamas’ global financial support networks, no matter where in the world they are.”

Despite the truce, Israel has been regularly bombing Gaza, killing at least 880 people since the “ceasefire” came into effect. The enclave also remains almost entirely destroyed, and reconstruction has not meaningfully started, leaving hundreds of thousands of people living in tents.

The US sanctions on Tuesday targeted two representatives from the advocacy group Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) and two others from the Palestinian prisoners solidarity network Samidoun.

The US imposed sanctions on the PCPA in January for backing the flotillas. Washington had also previously blacklisted Samidoun, but Tuesday’s penalties were specifically about the vessels.

They targeted advocates based in Jordan, Spain and Belgium

One of the organisers, Samidoun’s Mohammed Khatib, had been previously detained in Belgium and Greece for his activism.

DAWN, a US-based rights group, rejected the sanctions against flotilla organisers on Tuesday.

“Every time Palestinians and their supporters organise internationally, Washington reaches for the terrorism label to shut them down,” Isabelle Hayslip, advocacy manager at DAWN, told Al Jazeera.

“The net keeps widening. Palestinian diaspora communities now live under constant threat of designation for demanding their rights.”

Human rights advocates have launched dozens of vessels over the past two years, but they have all been intercepted by the Israeli military in international waters.

Activists have argued that the Israeli raids on the ships are illegal.

Israel has detained hundreds of people from across the world, including US citizens and prominent figures such as climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, as part of its crackdown on the flotillas.

Most detainees have been released and deported within days, but many accused Israeli forces of physical and psychological abuse.

Tuesday’s sanctions freeze the activists’ assets in the US and make it generally illegal for Americans to do business with them.

Because the international financial system is interconnected, US sanctions often make it difficult for people to get access to loans or credit cards.

The Treasury Department appeared to broadly warn banks on Tuesday against working with organisers of humanitarian vessels to Gaza.

“So-called humanitarian flotillas that are organised by or supporting designated parties represent a significant compliance risk for financial institutions,” it said.

Fear of secondary sanctions could prompt international banks to shut down the accounts of activists accused of no wrongdoing.

Several Palestinian rights advocates in Germany and the United Kingdom have reported having their bank accounts frozen over the past two years.

The Trump administration has intensified the use of sanctions to penalise supporters of Palestinian human rights around the world.

The US has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) judges for issuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials over charges of war crimes in Gaza.

At the same time, on the first day of his second term in January 2025, Trump revoked US sanctions against violent Israeli settlers targeting Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.