US announces new sanctions on Israeli settlers over West Bank violence
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In response, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he views "with utmost severity" the new sanctions imposed by Washington.
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A Palestinian examines a torched vehicle, seen the morning after a rampage by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Jit, Friday, August 16, 2024. (AP)
The United States announced on Wednesday new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers over violence in the occupied West Bank and urged "Israel" to increase accountability for such actions.
The announcement comes as Israeli occupation forces launched an aggression, that is expected to be the largest in 22 years, on several governorates in the West Bank late on Tuesday night.
The Israeli military command said that its forces had initiated a "wide-scale operation" in the governates of Tulkarm and Jenin, targeting Palestinian Resistance fighters. In detail, the aggression targets the Jenin, al-Far'a, and Nur Shams refugee camps, in Jenin, Tubas, and Tulkarm respectively.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stressed that such "extremist settler violence causes intense human suffering, harms Israel's security and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region," adding that it is critical for "Israel" to hold all responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank accountable.
In response, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he views "with utmost severity" the new sanctions imposed by Washington.
"Israel views with utmost severity the imposition of sanctions on citizens of Israel. The issue is in a pointed discussion with the US," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
The latest sanctions target groups and individuals such as Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli organization that has supported the unauthorized Meitarim Farm outpost in the south of al-Khalil.
Earlier this year, volunteers from this group fenced off a village, forcing its 250 Palestinian residents to leave, according to the US State Department.
Additionally, the sanctions include Yitzhak Levi Filant, who is accused of leading armed settlers in establishing roadblocks and patrols intended to attack Palestinians.
The United States has consistently expressed concerns to Netanyahu regarding settler violence and the expansion of settlements supported by members of his government.
Typically, US sanctions prevent targets from accessing the American financial system, causing Israeli banks to limit transactions with sanctioned individuals due to potential consequences.
However, the Biden administration has refrained from imposing sanctions on government ministers responsible for the settlement policy.
An AFP count shows that Israeli forces or settlers have murdered at least 640 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas called for escalating all forms of Resistance and confronting the invading Israeli occupation and its settlers "in every part of our occupied land," urging the people, freedom fighters, and rebellious youth across the West Bank to mobilize.
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