US Sanctions Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence

Facts

• US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Thursday imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions on Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank who are accused of attacking, intimidating, or seizing property from Palestinians.¹
• Four Israeli citizens were targeted in an initial round of sanctions — David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, and Yinon Levi, who are all accused of attacking and intimidating Palestinians, and Shalom Zickerman, accused of attacking Israeli peace activists.²
• The sanctions aim to bar the four men from using the US financial system and prohibit US citizens — which includes many West Bank settlers — from transacting with the sanctioned individuals. The Biden administration is weighing expanding the sanctions to other individuals involved in attacks on Palestinians.³
• Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there have been nearly 500 attacks against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank by Israeli settlers since, killing at least 8 and injuring at least 115.⁴
• In December the US Dept. of State announced that it would impose travel bans on Jewish settlers involved in violent attacks on Palestinians. It did not announce individual visa bans but said the penalties could include 'dozens“ of settlers and their families. If the violence continued, further measures would follow, the department warned.⁵
• In the past Pres. Biden has spoken out against retaliatory violence by Israeli settlers and has urged the Israeli government to hold those who commit violence accountable. The sanctions are a rare move from the White House, which has shown strong support for Israel since the attack on Oct. 7. The Israeli government condemned the sanctions, of which they were informed in advance.³

Sources: ¹www.reuters.com, ²Al Jazeera, ³Associated Press, ⁴Axios and ⁵CBS.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBS. The actions of extremist Israelis in the occupied West Bank are essentially pouring gasoline on the already volatile situation in the Middle East. These sanctions are part of an American effort to diffuse tensions in the region and hopefully prevent the excess violence against Palestinians. Israeli settlers who commit violence against innocent Palestinians must be held accountable and punished for their actions.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. The rhetoric of so-called 'settler violence' in Israel is part of an anti-Semitic smear campaign meant to change the narrative around the heinous attack on Oct. 7 and paint Israel as a villain. The majority of settlers in the West Bank are law-abiding citizens and those who act unlawfully are prosecuted by Israel itself, so these sanctions are unnecessarily punitive. In fact, the Israeli settlers in the West Bank are the ones who experience a great deal of hostilities bravely.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. These sanctions are meaningless and just a political ploy by Biden to win the support of voters who are angry with him for supporting Israel. Why not condemn the violence against Palestinian civilians in Gaza and freeze military aid and arms sales to Israel if he is serious? Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed and injured by Israeli violence in Gaza.

Predictions