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Official: EU Expected to Adopt Further Sanctions Against Hamas

Demonstrators lift flags of the Palestinian Hamas group during a rally after the Friday prayer in Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on December 8, 2023, protesting Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Demonstrators lift flags of the Palestinian Hamas group during a rally after the Friday prayer in Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on December 8, 2023, protesting Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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Official: EU Expected to Adopt Further Sanctions Against Hamas

Demonstrators lift flags of the Palestinian Hamas group during a rally after the Friday prayer in Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on December 8, 2023, protesting Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Demonstrators lift flags of the Palestinian Hamas group during a rally after the Friday prayer in Hebron city in the occupied West Bank on December 8, 2023, protesting Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

A senior EU official said on Friday he expected the bloc to adopt further sanctions against Hamas in the coming weeks.

"I'm pretty sure that the sanctions on Hamas will be adopted in the next couple of weeks, something like that," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The EU on Friday put two Hamas commanders on its terrorist list.

The two individuals are Mohammed Deif, Commander General of the military wing of Hamas, and his deputy Marwan Issa, the EU said.

Effective Friday, the two commanders are subject to the freezing of their funds and other financial assets in EU member states, while EU operators are prohibited from providing funds and economic resources to them.

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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
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Trump Says He Might Demand Panama Hand over Canal

This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Panama Canal Authority on August 30, 2024, shows the container ship MSC Marie, of 366 meters long and 51 meters wide, transiting the Panama Canal in Panama. (Handout / Panama Canal Authority / AFP)

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday accused Panama of charging excessive rates for use of the Panama Canal and said that if Panama did not manage the canal in an acceptable fashion, he would demand the US ally hand it over.

In an evening post on Truth Social, Trump also warned he would not let the canal fall into the "wrong hands," and he seemed to warn of potential Chinese influence on the passage, writing the canal should not be managed by China.

The post was an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. It also underlines an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts.

The United States largely built the canal and administrated territory surrounding the passage for decades. But the US government fully handed control of the canal to Panama in 1999 after a period of joint administration.

"The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the US," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.

"It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama. If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question."

The Panamanian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.