U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that imposes additional sanctions on Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, aka Settlers, allegedly involved in violence against PA Arabs.
“I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that 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 of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region. 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. For these reasons, these actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat”
Biden’s order targets four Israeli citizens who Washington believes have “directed or participated” in violent actions or threats against Palestinian Arabs in the disputed territory, Axios reported on Thursday, citing officials in Washington.
The outlet added that their assets and bank accounts in America would be frozen, and individuals and companies would be barred from providing assets or services to them through the U.S. financial system. According to Barak Ravid, the four Israelis are: Einan Tangil, Shalom Zicherman, David Chai Hasdai and Yinon Levi.
The State Department and U.S. Treasury are expected to issue details on the sanctions and how financial institutions should approach the issue after the order is released later Thursday, according to Politico.
The administrative order will also make it possible to target leaders or government officials claimed to be “directing, enacting, implementing and enforcing or failing to enforce policies that threaten the peace, security and stability” in Judea and Samaria, officials in Washington said.
While the Biden administration initially considered including Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on the list of sanctioned individuals, that plan was eventually shelved, Axios said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to the threats of US sanctions against him with the following response [translated]:
“The “settler violence” campaign is an anti-Semitic lie spread by Israel’s enemies with the aim of discrediting the pioneer settlers and the settlement enterprise and harming them, thereby discrediting the entire State of Israel. This is an anti-moral BDS campaign that turns the victim into the aggressor and permits the blood of the settlers. It’s a shame that the Biden administration cooperates with this in the days when the settlers are paying a dear blood price in the best of their sons in the war in Gaza.
“With God’s help, I will continue to act fearlessly to strengthen and develop Jewish settlement in all areas of the Land of Israel and strive for sustainable peace, which will only be achieved when the Arabs’ hope for the establishment of an Arab state on the ruins of the Jewish state is dashed. If the price is the imposition of American sanctions on me – then so be it.”
Jerusalem was reportedly notified about the sanctions, which had been in the works for several weeks, on Thursday morning.
Late last year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a “visa restriction policy” under which Washington would bar entry into the United States of those accused of undermining “peace, security or stability in the West Bank,” as well as their family members.
“We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank,” Blinken said.
International law expert Eugene Kontorovich commented on the sanctions, explaining how far-reaching they really are:
The new sanctions tools against Israelis announced by the Biden Administration is not about settler violence. First, it does not require acts of violence – anyone vaguely involved in doing or not doing anything the WH thinks undermines “peace” and “security” in WB qualifies.
As…
— Eugene Kontorovich (@EVKontorovich) February 1, 2024
On Dec. 31, then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen denounced reports of a growing phenomenon of “settler violence” as a “blood libel” and “a lie disconnected from reality.”
According to Israeli Police figures made public in November, in the period from the current Hamas war’s start on Oct. 7 through Nov. 7, there were 97 incidents of illegal activities attributed to Jews in Judea and Samaria, down from 184 offenses in the same period in 2022.
Between Oct. 7 and Jan. 15, the Hatzalah Judea and Samaria rescue group recorded more than 2,600 terrorist attacks against Israelis in the area, including 760 cases of rock-throwing, 551 fire bombings, 12 attempted or successful stabbings and nine vehicular assaults.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office issued a weak response to the sanctions:
“The absolute majority of the settlers in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting regularly and in the reserves for the defense of Israel.
“Israel acts against all lawbreakers everywhere, so there is no room for exceptional measures in this regard.”
JewishPress.com News Desk contributed to this report.
Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor, and Yesha Council Chairman, Shlomo Ne’eman, responded to the sanctions applied to four residents of Judea and Samaria by the United States:
“A heap of anti-Semitism birthed falsehoods. After launching a vicious campaign and through great effort, the United States has located only four people who they believe deserve to be sanctioned.
This makes it clear that there is no phenomenon of violence, as the radical left-wing organizations were claiming.
And yet the Biden administration chooses to play their game and draw a comparison between the actions of Hamas Nazis against Israelis in Judea and Samaria and our residents. This is an embarrassment to our intelligence and a disgrace to the values of the free world.
We demand that the Israeli government not lend a hand in this ugly game and continue to develop the enterprise of communities in Judea and Samaria. The Israeli government should not assist in the discrimination of our population. The residents of Judea and Samaria are a national source of pride and a symbol of beautiful Israel, which is strong and brave. Together we will win [the war].”
