Rhino: Agencies – The United States sanctioned an Israeli non-profit organization and a security official at a West Bank settlement on Wednesday, the latest effort by Washington to punish Jewish settlers it accuses of extremism and violence against Palestinians.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the non-governmental organization Hashomer Yoch, which says it helps protect settlers, provided tangible support to an unauthorized outpost in the West Bank that is already under sanctions.
Miller said in a statement that the official, Yitzhak Levi Vaillant, a civilian responsible for coordinating security in the Yitzhar settlement, led a group of armed settlers in February to set up roadblocks and patrols aimed at forcing Palestinians off their land.
“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes severe human suffering, harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospects for peace and stability in the region,” Miller said.
In the statement, Miller called on Israel to hold those responsible for the violence accountable. The sanctions freeze the assets of those targeted in the United States, prevent them from entering the United States, and generally prevent Americans from doing business with them.
The sanctions will be imposed under an executive order on violence in the West Bank signed by President Joe Biden in February. The order has been used to sanction a Palestinian armed group and Jewish settlers and their supporters.
Pro-Israel groups and people with dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship have filed a lawsuit challenging the order, arguing it is overly broad and will penalize anyone who opposes the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that “Israel views the imposition of sanctions on Israeli citizens with the utmost seriousness,” noting that there would be “a clear discussion with the United States.”
Since the 1967 war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of their independent state, along with the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. Israel has built Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which most of the world considers illegal. Israel rejects this and cites historical and biblical ties to the land.
The Biden administration said in February that settlements are contrary to international law, signaling a return to long-established US policy on the issue that was broken by the administration of former President Donald Trump.
Ultra-nationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir denounced previous sanctions imposed on settlers.