Hamas Leader Slams Zionist U.S. Charity Blacklist

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday slammed a U.S. decision to blacklist a major Gaza charity as an attempt to weaken the Islamist group after it seized control of the coastal region.

The bank accounts of the al-Salah Association, one of the largest Islamic charities in the Gaza Strip, were frozen earlier this month by Palestinian banks after the U.S. government designated it a "key support node for Hamas."

"The decision is connected to the siege imposed on 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip," Haniyeh said at a ceremony hosted by al-Salah.

Economic sanctions have been a centerpiece of an international campaign imposed since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006. Reuters