The White House on Thursday unveiled its most comprehensive round of sanctions on Israeli settlers and 'extremists' do date. The US Treasury described the targeted individuals and entities as those "who have weaponized them [West Bank outposts] as bases for violent actions to displace Palestinians."
This new action marks the fifth batch of sanctions, and impacts three individuals and five entities. Notably it includes a settler group led by Benzi Gopstein, widely viewed as a close ally of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Interestingly it comes the same week that Biden has approved the resumption of 500-pound bomb shipments to Israel. These merely somewhat symbolic sanctions against a tiny handful of settlers appear more as a PR attempt at balancing pro-Israeli military policies for the sake of appeasing Progressive Democrats in the US.
Some of the new actions target the following according to Times of Israel:
These include the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Their far-right group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank. Ben Haim becomes the first woman targeted using the executive order United States President Joe Biden signed in February after three years of urging Israel to crack down on settler violence.
Sanctions have also been imposed on four West Bank outposts deemed illegal by the United Nations and international humanitarian groups.
They have been listed as Meitarim Farm, which is led by the aforementioned and already-sanctioned Yinon Levi; HaMahoch Farm, Neria’s Farm, and Manne’s Farm. All of these are run by US-sanctioned leaders at this point.
However, at the higher level of the Israeli government, West Bank settlements have by and large been supported. Recent reporting in the Associated Press said, "The Israeli government has approved plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank, a monitoring group said Thursday, the latest in a campaign to accelerate settlement expansion, aimed at cementing Israeli control over the territory and preventing the establishment of a future Palestinian state."
The new homes are to be located in dozens of settlements across the West Bank, which regional monitors have called the biggest expansion and land grab by Israel in over three decades.
Settlers have spent years systematically cutting off Palestinian towns and enclaves from each other...
Since Oct.7 and the IDF Gaza operation, there has been an internecine conflict in various West Bank towns which has killed many dozens of Palestinians, but also has resulted in some casualties among Israeli troops and police.
Israeli officials have long argued then when a West Bank town or area descends into violent revolt, they lose the right to the land, and this often results in nearby Israeli military outposts turning a blind eye when unofficial settlements begin moving in.
