Biden slaps sanctions on Israeli settlers accused of West Bank violence
President Biden issued an executive order Thursday targeting that was later used to target four Israeli settlers in the West Bank accused of threats and attacks against Palestinians and other groups.
Biden’s order is a rare slap at America’s closest ally in the Middle East and was denounced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The four men targeted are David Chai Chasdai, accused of inciting a riot in
Huwara in which a Palestinian civilian was killed; Einan Tanjil, accused of assaulting Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists; Shalom Zicherman, accused of assaulting Israeli activists in the West Bank; and Yinon Levi, accused of inciting a group that assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians and threatened them with additional violence if they did not leave their homes.
Later Thursday, using authority from Biden’s executive order, the State Department moved to freeze any US assets held by the four men and imposed restrictions on engaging in business with them.
“Today’s actions seek to promote peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
In his executive order, Biden said that the “high levels of extremist settler violence” have “reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region.”
Thursday’s action came fewer than two weeks after the death of American Abdel Jabbar, 17, who was shot and killed in the West Bank Jan. 19 in circumstances that remain under investigation.
“Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Thursday.
“The United States will continue to take actions to advance the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to the safety, security, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
“Israel takes action against all law-breakers everywhere, and therefore there is no need for unusual measures on the issue,” Netanyahu’s office said in response, per Reuters.
The West Bank has been controlled by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War and has been the site of occasional flare-ups of violence ever since.
Hostilities in the terrirtory have increased since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, launched from the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s order was released on the same day he visited Michigan to rally support from union members in a key presidential battleground state.
The president has faced sharp criticism from Arab and Muslim leaders over his handling of the war with Hamas, and the shadow of the conflict has some Democrats worrying that it could have a major effect on the outcome in the November election.
The president’s campaign team has already seen alarming signs of the growing rift with Michigan’s large Arab American community.
Last week, Biden campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez traveled to suburban Detroit and found a number of community leaders unwilling to meet with her.
Some frustrated by Biden’s Israel policy are working to discourage voters from supporting the president in the general election.
When National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked whether the timing of the order was related to domestic pressure facing Biden, he answered: “Not at all,” adding that officials have been working since November on potential action to respond to violence by settlers.
The State Department announced in December it would impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
The department did not announce individual visa bans.
But officials said at the time the bans would cover “dozens” of settlers and their families, with more to come if the violence continued.
With Post wires
