Joe Biden targets Israeli settlers over ‘intolerable’ violence in West Bank
- Attacks against Palestinian civilians in the area are on the rise amid Israel’s separate military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
- The US has sanctioned 4 settlers accused of acts such as leading a deadly riot and heading a group that assaulted civilians and destroyed their property
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers as US President Joe Biden said violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank had reached intolerable levels.
The sanctions marked a rare move by the United States against Israelis as war rages with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and came as Biden travelled to Michigan, whose sizeable Arab-American community has voiced anger over his support for Israel.
Biden issued an executive order laying out the groundwork for US measures in response to attacks and “acts of terrorism” in the West Bank, where settlers have rampaged against Palestinians amid the separate military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
“The situation in the West Bank – in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction – has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security and stability,” Biden said in the order.
The US State Department later announced sanctions against four settlers. Any assets they hold in the United States will be blocked, with Americans forbidden from financial transactions with them.