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US Imposes Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence

US Imposes Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence

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The US Department of State has condemned extremist settler violence in the West Bank, stating that it causes intense human suffering. This condemnation comes as Israel launched a large-scale attack on the West Bank, claiming to have killed nine Palestinian fighters. The US has imposed sanctions on one organization, Hashomer Yosh, and one individual, Yitzhak Levi Filant, for their involvement in intimidating Palestinians and seizing their land. The US Treasury has designated them as "specially designated nationals". The Biden administration has urged Israel to hold accountable those responsible for violence against Palestinian civilians.

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US State Department
1. Now it's time for sanctions against the Israeli authorities that are approving and inciting. We want to see the US, UK, Canada and others focus on power behind all this in the West Bank.
Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man
Democracy for the Arab World Now
1. Targeting the notorious Yitzhar security officer, Filant, is an important step in recognizing the institutional and state-backed nature of settler violence.
2. The sanctions will never put an end to settler violence unless they start targeting the state institutions and politicians who treat settlers as a tool of their expansionist policies.
Matthew Miller
US State Department
1. Outposts like these have been used to disrupt grazing lands, limit access to wells, and launch violent attacks against neighboring Palestinians.
2. The United States remains deeply concerned about extremist violence and instability in the West Bank, which undermines Israel's own security.
3. We strongly encourage the Government of Israel to take immediate steps to hold these individuals and entities accountable. In the absence of such steps, we will continue to impose our own accountability measures.
4. After all 250 Palestinian residents of Khirbet Zanuta [a village at the centre of the struggle for land] were forced to leave in late January, Hashomer Yosh volunteers fenced off the village to prevent the residents from returning.
5. Although Filant's role is akin to a security or law enforcement officer, he has engaged in malign activities outside the scope of his authority.
6. In February 2024, he led a group of armed settlers to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them from their lands.
Akiva Eldar
American University of Beirut
1. There are Jewish supremacists sitting in the cabinet meetings, and what they want is chaos. They are not afraid of the international community.
Aaron David Miller
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1. It appears that they've not just targeted extremist settlers but have introduced a linkage to territoriality by citing illegal outposts.
2. It doesn't take much imagination to conclude that the next target would be [Israeli] government financing for illegal outposts. And that would be a new departure to be sure.

US Imposes Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence

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