President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to sanction four Israelis who his administration claims have been involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The four individuals were named as:

• David Chai Chasdai, identified by the US as the leader of an attack on the northern West Bank village of Huwara last year, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian.
• Eitan Tanjil, accused by the State Department of participating in violent attacks on Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists using stones and clubs, causing injuries that necessitated medical attention.
• Shalom Zicherman, alleged by the US to have attacked Israeli activists and their vehicles in the West Bank, including blocking their path on the road and trying to smash the windows of vehicles with activists inside.
• Yinon Levi, whom Washington claims routinely directed groups of settlers from the Meitarim Farm outpost in aggressive acts against Palestinian and Bedouin civilians. This included threats of further violence to force them from their homes, burning their fields, and damaging their property.

In a statement announcing the sanctions, the White House said that President Biden “has been clear that the United States strongly supports Israel’s right to defend itself following the horrific terrorist attacks that occurred on October 7 and in its effort to defeat Hamas to make sure that such an attack never happens again.” However, it adds that the president has “concern about the rise in violence that we have seen in the West Bank from extremist actors—in particular the rise in extremist settler violence, which reached record levels in 2023. This violence poses a grave threat to peace, security, and stability in the West Bank, Israel, and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Despite these new sanctions, the US State Department acknowledged that violence against Palestinians has gone down since an initial round of sanctions in which dozens of Israelis were hit with visa bans and other punitive measures.

“We have seen the level of extremist settler violence come down somewhat, not come down enough, we want to see more, but the interventions we have made have made a difference,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Prime Minister Netanyahu issued the following Statement following US President Biden’s Executive Order:

“The overwhelming majority of residents in Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are currently fighting – as conscripts and reservists – to defend Israel. Israel acts against all Israelis who break the law, everywhere; therefore, exceptional measures are unnecessary.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)