The US measures target three individuals and five Israeli entities over violence in the occupied West Bank.
The United States announced new sanctions against several Israeli settlers and affiliated groups, accusing them of engaging in violence or threats of violence against civilians, seizing property or other actions that threaten security in the occupied West Bank.
The sanctions announced by the US State Department and the Treasury Department on Thursday target Israeli individuals Isachar Manne, Reut Ben Haim and Aviad Shlomo Sarid, and four illegal Israeli settlement outposts; Manne Farm, Meitarim Farm, Hamahoch Farm and Neriya Farm.
The US also blacklisted Lehava, an Israeli settler umbrella group, which it described as the “largest violent extremist organization in Israel” with more than 10,000 members.
“The United States remains deeply concerned about extremist violence and instability in the West Bank, which undermines Israel’s own security,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Thursday.
“We strongly encourage the Government of Israel to take immediate action to hold these individuals and entities accountable. In the absence of such measures, we will continue to impose our own accountability measures.”
The sanctions freeze any assets held by those targeted in U.S. jurisdictions and prevent Americans from doing business with them.
Lehava was quick to criticize the U.S. designation and President Joe Biden, saying the group will not stop its actions.
“Biden’s measures will not deter us – we will continue to act fearlessly to save Israel’s daughters, much to the consternation of Biden and Israel’s other enemies,” he said.
The EU had already placed Lehava on its asset freeze and visa ban blacklist for his attacks on Palestinians earlier this year.
The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has seen a rise in violence over the past year, especially since Israel’s war on Gaza broke out in October.
Since then, at least 553 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the territory, and 9,510 have been detained, according to Palestinian officials.
About 3 million Palestinians live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and more than 500,000 Israelis reside in more than 100 settlements across the territory.
In early July, the Israeli NGO Peace Now reported that the Israeli government had approved 5,295 new housing units in a series of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank and had recognized three new settlement outposts.
Settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, considered illegal under international law, is often cited as the main barrier to any lasting peace agreement with the Palestinians under a two-state solution.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
