Biden cracks down on Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is signing an executive order Thursday allowing the United States to impose more sanctions on Israeli settlers – and possibly government officials – involved in violence against Palestinians.

The order marks one of the most stringent punishments the U.S. has ever imposed on people deemed responsible for settler violence in the West Bank, which Palestinians claim as part of a future state. Reprisals on Palestinian civilians in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre threaten to further destabilize the region.

Biden is set to sign the policy on the same day he travels to Michigan, a battleground state that Arab and Muslim voters helped deliver for him in 2020 but where anger about his Israel policy threatens his chances of winning again in November.

The order gives the federal government power to sanction foreign nationals involved in directing or participating in intimidation, terrorism, threats of violence against civilians, or the destruction or seizure of property, a senior administration official told reporters Thursday.

The State Department is announcing the first round of sanctions Thursday against four individuals who the U.S. says were directly involved in attacks against Palestinians and in efforts that led to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities, according to the official.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets or property belonging to those people and ban Americans from doing business with or transferring money to them. The individuals are also barred from entering the U.S.

Biden’s team determined that attacks by extremist settlers could cause further unrest in the West Bank, fuel a broader regional conflict and undermine the United States’ push for a two-state solution, according to a senior administration official.

The executive order would apply to Israelis and Palestinians alike – whether they are civilians or politicians – who are found to be undermining stability, the official said. No government officials are being targeted by sanctions at this time, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The U.N.’s humanitarian office found that Israeli settlers have carried out almost 500 attacks on Palestinians since the deadly invasion by Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and the European Union.

Eight Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and 116 more wounded, the office reported Wednesday.

Israeli authorities have said they have taken steps to address the problem both before and after the Hamas attacks. The Israeli government was notified of the plans for the executive order ahead of time, a senior administration official said.

Biden and top administration officials have repeatedly raised the issue with their counterparts, including in a December phone call between the president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden has publicly called Netanyahu’s government “the most conservative” in Israel’s history and said it must change to keep global support.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan first ordered Cabinet departments in November to develop policy options intended to curb settler violence. The State Department took the first step in December, announcing it would deny visas to Israeli settlers involved in the attacks.