"Joe Biden has approved financial sanctions on Israelis responsible for “extremist settler violence” against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, amid rising tensions between the US and Israel over a two-state solution in the region.
Biden signed an executive order on Thursday authorising the sanctions, which would cut off designated individuals from the US financial system, including barring them from receiving financial assistance from the US.
The new sanctions amount to a broader US crackdown on the conduct of settlers in the West Bank compared with visa restrictions imposed on certain individuals late last year.
Biden’s move comes amid fears in Washington that violence by settlers in the West Bank is exacerbating tensions caused by the war in Gaza, undermining the prospects for a future settlement of the conflict.
Washington is also frustrated that Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government has rejected its vision for a diplomatic resolution that would involve the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
A senior Biden administration official said that Biden had expressed his concern about settler violence in the West Bank “in almost every diplomatic conversation” he had with Israeli leaders about the crisis."
FT.com
Biden signed an executive order on Thursday authorising the sanctions, which would cut off designated individuals from the US financial system, including barring them from receiving financial assistance from the US.
The new sanctions amount to a broader US crackdown on the conduct of settlers in the West Bank compared with visa restrictions imposed on certain individuals late last year.
Biden’s move comes amid fears in Washington that violence by settlers in the West Bank is exacerbating tensions caused by the war in Gaza, undermining the prospects for a future settlement of the conflict.
Washington is also frustrated that Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government has rejected its vision for a diplomatic resolution that would involve the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
A senior Biden administration official said that Biden had expressed his concern about settler violence in the West Bank “in almost every diplomatic conversation” he had with Israeli leaders about the crisis."
FT.com