US imposes sanctions on Israelis accused of...

World - US imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of inciting violence in the West Bank — Photo: REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma/File photo.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order Thursday aimed at punishing Israeli settlers who misbehave in the West Bank, where Palestinians hope to establish a future state.

In a statement, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the order sets out a system of imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals who have attacked or threatened Palestinians or appropriated their property.

“Today’s actions are aimed at promoting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.”

The State Department’s sanctions freeze the four men’s US assets and prohibit US individuals and businesses from doing business with them. They are the latest sanctions imposed since Palestinian militants launched a cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

In December 2023, the US government began banning visas for some people involved in violence in the West Bank.

On Thursday, the US State Department said:

David Chai Chasdai instigated and led a riot that included setting fire to vehicles and houses, causing property damage in Huwara and killing a Palestinian civilian.
Einan Tanjil assaulted several Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists, attacking them with stones and sticks, resulting in several injuries requiring medical treatment.
Shalom Zicherman, according to video evidence, assaulted Israeli activists and damaged their vehicles in the West Bank, prevented them from moving on the street, attempted to break the windows of vehicles carrying Israeli activists around, cornered two activists and injured both of them.
Yinon Levi led a group of settlers to attack Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, setting fire to their fields and destroying their property.

In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “Israel must do better to prevent violence against civilians in the West Bank and ensure that those behind the violence are held accountable.”

“The United States will continue to take action to advance America’s foreign policy goals, including the viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to working for the safety, security, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians.”

President Biden and other senior US officials have repeatedly warned Israel that it needs to act and stop the violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

A senior official said Mr Biden had raised the issue directly with Mr Netanyahu, as he seeks a path to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians once the conflict in Gaza ends.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said US officials have raised settler violence with Israeli counterparts, and in some cases the Israeli government has taken action.

Mr Miller said the level of settler violence in the West Bank had decreased in the past two months since these interventions.

He also said three of the four Israelis subject to sanctions had been tried by the Israeli government.

Mr. Miller said the order issued on Thursday was aimed at foreigners, but he did not rule out the possibility that the US would take action against Jewish settlers with American citizenship in the future.

Netanyahu, who leads a right-wing religious coalition government, has resisted US demands to come up with a plan for post-conflict Gaza and embrace a peace deal with the potential for a co-existing Israeli and Palestinian state: “Don’t think we’re done.”

His office responded to the US sanctions on Thursday, saying they were unnecessary.

“Israel acts and punishes individuals who break the law everywhere, so there is no need for extraordinary measures in this regard,” he said in a statement.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the far-right pro-settler Religious Zionist Party, opposed Biden's order:

“The ‘settler violence’ campaign is an anti-Semitic lie spread by Israel’s enemies with the goal of defaming settlers and settler businesses, harming them and thereby defaming the entire state of Israel.”

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, where Palestinians want to establish a state. It has built Jewish settlements there, a move that most countries around the world consider illegal. Israel has disputed the claim, citing historical and religious grounds.

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

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