Key Points
- The US has sanctioned four Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians.
- Human rights groups have identified 2023 as the most violent year for attacks in the West Bank.
The United States has imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers as President Joe Biden said violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank had reached "intolerable levels".
The sanctions marked a rare move by the US against Israelis 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 , forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction — has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security and stability," he said in the order.
The State Department later announced sanctions against four settlers. Any assets they hold in the US will be blocked, with Americans forbidden from financial transactions with them.
The four settlers include David Chai Chasdai who is accused of leading a riot in the flashpoint town of Huwara that led to the death of a Palestinian civilian.
Other targets included Yinon Levi, who is accused of leading a group of settlers from the unauthorised outpost of Meitarim Farm who have assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, burned their fields and destroyed their property.
"Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Israel needs to do more to stop settler violence in the West Bank. Source: AP / Jess Rapfogel
Israel criticised the sanctions by its close ally.
"Israel acts against all lawbreakers everywhere, so there is no room for exceptional measures in this regard," said a statement by Netanyahu's office.
Most violent year on record in West Bank
The action marks the first financial sanctions against settlers, although the Biden administration earlier announced that it would refuse visas for extremists involved in violence.
Biden has defended Israel's right to respond, , after the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October in which around 1,200 people were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government.
Biden, however, has also voiced exasperation with Netanyahu and the high toll on civilians as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip with a stated goal of eradicating Hamas.
At least 26,900 people in Gaza have been killed, according to the health ministry in the enclave.
The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli settlers killed at least 10 Palestinians and torched dozens of homes in the occupied West Bank in 2023, making it , according to the human rights group Yesh Din.
About 490,000 settlers live among approximately three million Palestinians in the West Bank, in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
Biden has largely returned to historic US opposition to the settlements after Trump switched gears and declined to criticise the outposts, with his secretary of state, .
The Biden administration is also renewing calls for the creation of a Palestinian state,
