New US sanctions to target illegal West Bank settlements: Axios
3 Min Read
If implemented, the new US sanctions would represent the first instance of the United States applying sanctions to entire Israeli settlements rather than targeting individual settlers.
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Israeli settlers with assault rifles in the West Bank on July 1, 2021. (AFP)
The Biden administration is likely to announce new sanctions as early as Thursday against two illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Axios reported citing three US officials. These settlements have reportedly served as launching points for attacks by extremist Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians.
This marks the first instance of the United States applying sanctions to entire settlements rather than targeting individual settlers. The decision allegedly aligns with the Biden administration's increased pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government concerning various issues, including the surge in settler violence against Palestinians and the ongoing aggression in Gaza.
According to the UN Humanitarian Office (OCHA), there were close to 500 incidents of Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians from October 7 to January 31 of this year.
The Biden administration's second wave of sanctions aimed at "curbing settler violence" will additionally target three Israeli settlers, according to US officials.
One US official claimed, as quoted by Axios, that the sanctions against the two Israeli settlements are intended to convey that the US is not solely focusing on individuals, but also organizations providing logistical and financial aid for attacks against Palestinians.
The sanctions would reportedly involve freezing any assets held by the three settlers and two outposts in the US, prohibiting them from obtaining visas to enter the country, and preventing them from accessing the US financial system.
UK, France, Canada following suit
On February 1st, President Biden issued an executive order granting the US the authority to levy fresh sanctions on Israeli settlers implicated in violent assaults against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and potentially against Israeli politicians and government officials as well.
The initial set of sanctions, pursuant to the new executive order, targeted four Israeli settlers accused by the US of direct involvement in assaults on Palestinians in the West Bank and orchestrating actions that resulted in the forced displacement of Palestinian communities.
Following this, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada have declared their intention to impose comparable sanctions.
Initially, the Israeli occupation's government and settler organizations reacted with minimal concern to Biden's executive order, perceiving it as primarily symbolic in nature.
On this point, critics have argued that such announcements, much like Biden's Gaza port plan, are designed to divert public attention from Washington's complicity in the ongoing Israeli genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, not to mention the systematic starvation of an entire population.
Critics highlight that the US has sent billions of dollars worth of weapons to "Israel" over the past six months, referencing the Israeli Prime Minister's statement on December 7. At the time, Netanyahu emphasized "Israel's" urgent need for a consistent provision of US munitions to sustain its ongoing bombing campaign in Gaza.
“We need three things from the US: munitions, munitions, and munitions,” according to a recording obtained by the Israel Hayom newspaper and cited by the Financial Times. Netanyahu reportedly made the statement during a meeting with local government officials.
On this note, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, affirmed in a talk he held on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan on Wednesday, that "US President Joe Biden can stop the aggression on Gaza and Lebanon with the stroke of a pen."
