The United States announced rare sanctions on Thursday targeting extremist Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with President Joe Biden denouncing an
“intolerable”
situation .
“The situation in the West Bank, particularly high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and destruction of property, has reached intolerable levels and poses a serious threat to peace, security and stability of the West Bank, Gaza, Israel and the Middle East region
,” Mr. Biden wrote in a presidential decree.
“These actions undermine the objectives of the foreign policy of the United States, including that of a two-state solution”
Israeli and Palestinian, and as such represent
“a threat to the national security of the United States”
, adds- he in this text granting him the authority to take sanctions.
Israel's first ally, the United States has for months condemned the violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, urging the Israeli authorities to stop it and bring the perpetrators to justice.
“Israel must do more to end the violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold those responsible accountable
,” reiterated the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, who himself must visit once again the region in the coming days.
In response, Israel said there was
"no room for exceptional measures"
against Israeli settlers, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Colonies deemed illegal
The new American sanctions initially target four Israelis, who will be banned from entering the United States and their possible assets frozen, according to a statement from the State Department.
Among them is David Chai Chasdai, accused of instigating a riot in the Palestinian town of Huwara, south of Nablus, leading to the death of a Palestinian civilian.
Or Yinon Levi, accused of leading a group of settlers around the Meitarim outpost, having attacked Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, burning their fields and destroying their property.
At the beginning of December, the United States had already announced visa restrictions against extremist Israeli settlers, but these are the first financial sanctions.
The announcement of the measures comes on the day President Biden visits Michigan, an electorally crucial northern U.S. state that is also the epicenter of Arab-American anger over the pro-Israeli policy of the Democratic president.
The Israeli government has staunch defenders of settlement, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Jewish Force party.
The West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 by Israel, has been shaken by a surge in violence since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli territory. on October 7.
According to the Palestinian Authority, at least 364 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank.
More than 2.9 million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank, separated from the Gaza Strip by Israeli territory.
And around 490,000 Israelis also live there, in settlements deemed illegal by international law.