Several people sanctioned
USA takes action against violent West Bank settlers
February 1, 2024, 7:49 p.m
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The US government repeatedly warns Israel about acts of violence by extremist settlers in the West Bank. These are said to have increased significantly, especially since the Hamas terrorist attack. Washington is once again taking action against several people.
The U.S. government is imposing sanctions on individuals accused of engaging in violence against civilians, intimidation, and destruction of property in the West Bank. “Four names will be announced later today,” said a senior US government official in Washington.
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly expressed his concern publicly and in almost every diplomatic conversation with the Israeli government about the increase in violence by extremists. These actions pose a serious threat to peace and security stability in the West Bank, Israel and the Middle East.
As a result of the sanctions, possible assets of those affected in the USA will, among other things, be blocked. U.S. citizens or people located in the United States are prohibited from doing business with the sanctioned individuals. The sanctions are “not discriminatory and apply to Israelis and Palestinians as well as foreigners,” emphasized the US government representative. The Israeli government has already been informed about this.
Palestinians complain about increasing violence
At the beginning of December, the US government had already imposed entry restrictions in response to the growing tensions in the West Bank, which were aimed, among other things, at extremist Israeli settlers.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war following the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups in southern Israel, tensions and conflicts in the Israeli-occupied West Bank have also increased. Palestinians complain about increased violence by Israeli settlers against their villages and olive groves. The Israeli military is increasingly cracking down on suspected militants in Palestinian cities.
According to the UN emergency agency OCHA, 370 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank including East Jerusalem between October 7, 2023 and January 31, 2024, 360 of them by Israeli soldiers and at least eight by Israeli settlers. Six Israelis were killed during the same period. In 2023, OCHA documented more deaths in the area than ever since counting began in 2005.
During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel conquered, among other things, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Today around 600,000 Israelis live there in more than 200 settlements. In 2016, the UN Security Council called these settlements a violation of international law and called on Israel to stop all settlement activity. The Palestinians claim the areas as part of their own state.