Biden Administration Sanctions Israeli Settlers Accused of West Bank Violence
US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday placing sanctions on four Israeli settlers accused of committing violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.
According to instructions reportedly issued by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan last November, cabinet agencies, including the State Department, were requested to develop punitive policy measures in response to “extremist settler violence.”
The State Department signaled in early December that the administration was willing to deny visas to Israelis found liable for violence that further destabilized the territory. Thursday’s move confirmed that this was not an idle threat.
According to two US officials familiar with the decision, the sanctions package will function in largely the same manner as if it were placed on terrorist actors. The subjects will be blocked from accessing any property or assets held in the United States and banned from using the US financial system to receive or transfer any funds, goods, or services.
Each of the sanctioned individuals led or participated in overtly violent acts while operating out of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, many of which are illegal under international law, the State Department said.
David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman, and Yinon Levi, the four individuals specifically named in the order, were accused by the US of a range of crimes, including attacks on Palestinian farmers and Israeli peace activists, leading riots, and gross destruction of property.
