The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions against a prominent Palestinian legal organization for prisoners and detainees, along with four other charitable groups across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. The Treasury accuses these groups of supporting Hamas’ military wing under the cover of providing humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Among those sanctioned is Addameer, a nonprofit established in 1991 and based in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Addameer offers free legal assistance to Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel and monitors their detention conditions.
The U.S. government alleges that Addameer “has long supported and is affiliated” with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular, left-wing group with both a political faction and an armed wing that has conducted deadly attacks against Israelis. Both Israel and the U.S. designate the PFLP as a terrorist organization.
Addameer has not issued an immediate response to the sanctions.
Israel has previously accused Addameer of funding terrorism, though the United Nations has stated it found no compelling evidence to support this claim. In its 2022 human rights report, the U.S. State Department referenced Israel’s arrest of Salah Hammouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer working with Addameer, under a section describing “retribution against human rights defenders.”
Addameer collaborates with international organizations like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and is part of the World Organization Against Torture.
Following Israel’s 2022 raid on Addameer’s offices, the UN condemned the action, noting that Israel failed to present convincing proof of wrongdoing. The UN emphasized that Addameer conducts “critical human rights, humanitarian and development work” in the occupied territories.
The sanctions came partly after a request from the Zachor Legal Institute, an Israeli-American advocacy group focused on combating antisemitism and terrorism. Zachor, along with 44 other groups, wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the addition of Addameer to the sanctions list, basing their appeal partly on undisclosed intelligence from the Israeli Security Agency.
Marc Greendorfer, president of Zachor, expressed satisfaction with the Treasury’s action and encouraged further sanctions against other groups his organization had identified. He stressed the importance of preventing hostile foreign entities from spreading hate and violence in the U.S.
The other organizations sanctioned include:
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Gaza-based Al Weam Charitable Society and its leader
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Turkish charity Filistin Vakfi and its leader
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El Baraka Association for Charitable and Humanitarian Work and its leader
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Netherlands-based Israa Charitable Foundation Netherlands and two employees
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Italy-based Associazione Benefica La Cupola d’Oro
A 2024 Treasury report on terrorist financing highlights the growing challenge posed by online crowdfunding, which is often conducted under the guise of legitimate charitable donations. This makes it harder for law enforcement to identify and investigate cases linked to terrorist financing, as most crowdfunding activities are legitimate.
