US sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank

The United States announced on Tuesday that it won’t grant visas to extremist Israeli settlers involved in the wave of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, calling on the Israeli government to make more efforts to protect civilians in Gaza.

The measure is considered one of the rare, tangible reactions of the United States against Israelis since the outbreak of war about two months ago, noting that US President Joe Biden had urged his ally Israel to protect civilians, promising at the same time strong support for.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, “We stressed to the Israeli government that more efforts must be made to hold accountable the extremist settlers who committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank”.

The US Secretary of State recalled that Biden had previously repeatedly stressed that “those attacks are unacceptable”.

Blinken said that the United States would deny entry to anyone involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank or taking steps that unjustifiably restrict civilians’ access to basic services and needs.

He stressed that “the lack of stability in the West Bank harms both the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel’s national security interests… Those responsible must be held accountable”.

For his part, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the measure affects dozens of settlers without announcing their names.

The visa ban also affects their family members.

The restrictions don’t apply to extremist settlers who hold US citizenship.

The West Bank has witnessed an escalation in tensions since the outbreak of war in Gaza.

Since October 7, at least 255 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli army or settler fire in various areas of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Palestinians complain of impunity in attacks and harassment committed by settlers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a coalition government that includes extreme right-wing parties that strongly support settlement in lands occupied by Israel in 1967, even though building Israeli housing units in these lands is considered an illegal act according to international law.

Blinken visited Israel and the West Bank last week.

The US State Department said that Israel is showing an improvement in the targeting of its strikes in Gaza after Washington expressed concern about the widespread bombing at the beginning of the war.

“We’ll continue to monitor what is happening and we will continue to pressure them to do everything we can to reduce harm to civilians,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

The United States has pledged to provide more than $100 million in aid to the Palestinians, but it faces sharp criticism in the Arab world because of its diplomatic and military support for Israel.

The American progressive lobby group J Street, which is pro-Israel and often criticizes Netanyahu, welcomed the visa ban decision and considered it an important first step.

The group said that the Biden administration must impose a ban on two far-right ministers in the Israeli government, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The Biden administration returned to the traditional policy of opposing settlements in the United States and the world, but without taking any practical measures to put an end to it.

Former US President Donald Trump abandoned this policy, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States no longer considers Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories illegal.