The United States has imposed sanctions on several Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, accusing them of undermining stability and security in Israel and the Palestinian territories,
Al Jazeera reports.
The announcement on Thursday comes amid increasing pressure on President Joe Biden over his unwavering support for Israel’s war on Gaza as he campaigns for re-election in November.
The sanctions target David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil and Yinon Levi, who are accused of assaulting and intimidating Palestinians. They also target Shalom Zickerman, who is accused of assaulting Israeli activists.
The sanctions will freeze the individuals’ assets in the US and restrict financial dealings with them.
Earlier, Axios reported that the Biden administration had considered sanctioning ultranationalist government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, but decided against the move.
“There are no plans to target with sanctions Israeli government officials at this time,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, adding that the US informed the Israeli government before announcing the sanctions.
The White House also announced a new decree to penalise perpetrators of “extremist settler violence” in the West Bank.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement that settler violence “poses a grave threat to peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, Israel, and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States”.
