Biden signs sanctions against Israeli settlers for assaults on Palestinians in West Bank

On Thursday, President Biden signed an executive order imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank accused of assaulting Palestinians in the occupied region, with the initial phase targeting four individuals.

It has been almost four months since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel (October 7). According to the Israeli government, 1,200 people were killed in this offensive, and more than 200 were kidnapped. Six US citizens were to be among the hostages. In response, Israel attacked Gaza with a full-scale invasion. According to estimates by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a total of 30,034 people, including 27,681 civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. Among the victims were to be about 11,500 children.

The conflict in Gaza is reverberating throughout the region, including in the West Bank, where there is Jewish harassment of Palestinians. According to Al Jazeera, "Since the start of 2023, at least 483 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,769 injured by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank."

- These actions undermine the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis and Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity, and freedom (...) They also undermine the security of Israel and have the potential to lead to broader regional destabilization across the Middle East, threatening United States personnel and interests - said Joe Biden in a statement.

For many years, far-right Israeli settlers in the West Bank have attacked the territory's approximately 3 million Palestinians, often to take over land claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. These attacks saw a significant increase following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, which resulted in the depopulation of entire Palestinian villages.

The new law seeks to prevent the escalation of persecution of Palestinians inside Israel and force direct accountability on perpetrators of attacks.

Source: ABC News, Al Jazeera, Politico