The United States has imposed sanctions on four Israeli men it accused of being involved in settler violence in the West Bank. This measure is being seen as a growing signal of US displeasure with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that aims to punish ill-behaved Israeli settlers in the West Bank, where Palestinians envisage a future state. The order establishes a system for imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions against individuals who attack or intimidate Palestinians or seize their property, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “Today’s actions seek to promote peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” he said.
I signed an Executive Order allowing the U.S. to issue sanctions against those who direct or participate in acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank, including extremist settlers.Today’s action seeks to promote security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 1, 2024
The State Department sanctions, freezing the US assets of the four men and generally barring Americans from dealing with them, are the latest since Palestinian Hamas militants on Oct. 7 carried out an attack on Israel and Israel responded with an assault on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Earlier in December, the United States began imposing visa bans on people involved in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Biden has raised the issue directly with Netanyahu, one senior official told Reuters, as Biden seeks a path to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians once the Gaza conflict ends.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said US officials had presented documented cases of settler violence to Israeli counterparts and in some cases Israel had taken action. The levels of settler violence in the West Bank have come down in the past roughly two months since those interventions, Miller said at a press briefing. Three of the four men hit with sanctions had been prosecuted by Israel, he added. Miller said Thursday’s order was targeted at foreign nationals, but he did not rule out further U.S. action against the many Jewish settlers who hold US citizenship. “You should not conclude that we are done,” he said.
Prime Minister’s Office Statement on US President Biden’s Executive Order:The overwhelming majority of residents in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting – as conscripts and reservists – to defend Israel.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 1, 2024
Netanyahu’s office on Thursday responded to the US measures by saying they were unnecessary. “Israel takes action against all law-breakers everywhere, and therefore there is no need for unusual measures on the issue,” it said in a statement. Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical ties to the land.
(With agency inputs)
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