ARAB AND WORLD

Thu 14 Mar 2024 10:52 am - Jerusalem Time

Axios: Washington will impose sanctions on two settlement outposts in the West Bank

According to the American website Axios, the two settlement sites were used as a base for attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinian civilians, and the sanctions will also include 3 Israeli settlers.


The administration of US President Joe Biden is moving to impose new sanctions on two illegal settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank, which have been used as a base for attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinian civilians, according to the American website Axios, citing American officials.


This will be the first time that US sanctions have been imposed on an entire settlement outpost, and not just against individuals.


According to the American website, the two settlement sites were used as a base for attacks by extremist settlers on Palestinian civilians, and the sanctions will also include 3 Israeli settlers.


Axios reported, quoting an American official, that the sanctions, expected to be imposed on Thursday, send a message that the United States is not only targeting individuals, but also targeting entities involved in providing logistical and financial support for attacks against the Palestinians.


Potential US sanctions include freezing the assets that the two outposts may own, in addition to those owned by the three settlers, in the United States, and preventing them from obtaining a visa to enter the United States and from using the American financial system, according to Axios.


The US State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' questions about possible new sanctions.


It is noteworthy that last February, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on 4 Israelis whom it accused of involvement in settler violence in the West Bank, which indicates the United States’ growing dissatisfaction with the policies of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.


The Biden administration said that Israel's expansion of building settlements in the West Bank contravenes international law, which indicates a return to the long-standing American policy on this issue, which the administration of former President Donald Trump retreated from.


This move comes at a time when the Biden administration is intensifying pressure on the Netanyahu government on a range of issues, including settler violence against Palestinians and the war in Gaza.


Nearly 500 settler attacks against Palestinians occurred between October 7, 2023 and January 31 of this year, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

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Axios: Washington will impose sanctions on two settlement outposts in the West Bank