Biden orders sanctions on Israeli settlers in West Bank

Washington: Violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank will be hit with a fresh wave of travel and financial sanctions under a new executive order issued by US president Joe Biden to tackle growing instability in the Middle East.

As tensions rise following the Israel-Hamas war, the White House says it will target four foreign nationals that have engaged in terrorism, violence, intimidation, and property damage against civilians in the West Bank, a large region of land east of Israel that is home to about 3 million Palestinians.

The executive order is the most significant action Biden has taken against Israelis since the October 7 war erupted and comes as the president faces a growing backlash over the ongoing bombardment in Gaza.

Under the order, West Bank settlers who have committed violence against Palestinians will be banned from obtaining visas into the US and prevented from have any property, assets or business interests.

One of the individuals targeted initiated and led a riot that involved setting buildings on fire, damaging property and ultimately resulted in the death of a Palestinian, a US official said. Another individual assaulted farmers and other Israeli activities with stones and clubs.

Speaking at the annual prayer breakfast in Washington before the executive order was announced, Biden told attendees: “Not only do we pray for peace, we’re actively working for peace, security, and dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.

“I’m engaged in this day and night – as many of you in this room are – to find the means to bring our hostages home, to ease the humanitarian crisis and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel. An enduring peace – with two states for two peoples.”

Of the 135 hostages held by Hamas, six are Israeli-American dual citizens.

Israeli settlers have been moving into the West Bank for years, but the intensity of settler violence in the region has grown since the Hamas incursion last year.

Figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), suggest there were 1225 incidents of settler violence in 2023.

The vast majority of incidents took place between October 7 and December 30 when at least 198 Palestinian households of 1208 people were displaced due to settler violence and military restrictions.

The news of the executive order comes as the US actively pursues the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel and exploring options with partners in the region.

While the State Department has not provided full details of the plan, spokesman Matthew Miller said this week that the effort had been a longstanding objective of the Biden administration.

The president, meanwhile, continues to come under growing pressure at home from Arab American voters outraged by the president’s backing of Israel’s war in Gaza.

The executive order was an apparent bid to mitigate some of that fury.

It goes much further than a directive issued by the State Department in December, which imposed visa bans on dozens of Israeli settlers who have committed acts of violence in the West Bank.