Four Israeli Israelis accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank have been sanctioned by US President Joe Biden, who authorized a wide executive order authorizing the sanctions on Thursday, citing “intolerable levels” of violence in the West Bank.
According to the sanctions, the four accused Israeli citizens would be barred from accessing any US property, assets, or the American financial system.
The unusual sanctions against Israeli citizens were enforced as Mr Biden traveled to Michigan, a state with a sizable Arab-American population that has raised reservations about Biden’s support for Israel.
The Arab American Institute, an advocacy group, previously stated that since the beginning of the conflict, Arab Americans’ support for the Democratic Party has dropped from 59% in 2020 to 17%.
On Thursday, a senior Biden administration source stated that the president has regularly expressed his displeasure with Israel over settlers’ violence.
The executive order specifies how the US will respond to future attacks in the West Bank and is a more stringent approach than the visa restrictions imposed on some individuals late last year.
“The situation in the West Bank – in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction – has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security and stability,” Mr Biden said in the order.
Shortly after he announced the move, Israel signalled its dissatisfaction and described the majority of West Bank settlers as “law-abiding”.
“Israel takes action against all law-breakers everywhere, and therefore there is no need for unusual measures on the issue,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said.
The sanctions show that the US does not approve of certain actions of the Israeli citizens which escalated when war broke out after Hamas attacked and killed 1200 Israeli citizens and abducted over 200 on October 7 2023.
In recent times, there have been some disagreements between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the issues of a two-state solution to the Palestinian question. Biden believes in the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel – known as a “two-state solution” for stability to reign in the region.
However, Netanyahu rejected the idea, which prompted the White House to acknowledge last month that the US and Israeli governments “clearly see things differently.”