White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that the order would impose financial sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals who attack Palestinians or seize their property. “Today’s actions are aimed at promoting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.
Israeli soldiers stand guard near the scene of a shooting in Hebron, Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 1, 2024. Photo: Reuters
The State Department sanctions, which freeze the US assets of the four men and ban Americans from doing business with them, are the latest US sanctions since hostilities erupted in the Gaza Strip. In December, the US imposed a visa ban on people involved in violence in the West Bank.
A statement from the US State Department on Thursday said the four people on the sanctions list were David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman and Yinon Levi, who the US accused of attacking and destroying Palestinian property in the West Bank, an internationally recognized Palestinian territory but occupied by Israel.
“Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold those responsible for it accountable,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement.
Mr. Biden and other senior U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that Israel must act to stop violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Biden raised the issue directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to establish a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine after the Gaza conflict ends, a senior official said.
Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, an area that Palestinians want to become the center of an independent state. Israel has built Jewish settlements there that most countries consider illegal. Israel protests, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.
Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)
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