The U.S. Sanctions 'Illegal Settlers' in the West Bank

On Monday, November 19, the United States sanctioned several organizations and companies involved in 'illegal settlement' activities in the West Bank. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that the company 'Amana,' recognized as the largest settlement development organization in the West Bank, and one of its subsidiaries, previously sanctioned by the UK and Canada, have been added to the U.S. sanctions list. Amana, based in the West Bank, has approximately $160 million in capital and has financed infrastructure projects for new settlements in the West Bank over the past few years. Additionally, the U.S. State Department imposed diplomatic sanctions against the company 'E Al Yehuda,' which provides construction logistics to sanctioned groups. Individuals such as Hashomer Yosh, Shabtai Kushlowski, and Zoher Sabah, who have committed 'violent actions' against Palestinians, have also been sanctioned. Sanctioned companies, entities, and individuals are barred from accessing assets held in the United States and prohibited from trading with U.S. companies and citizens. These sanctions are based on an executive order by President Joe Biden in February 2023, targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank accused of attacking Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in 'occupied territories.' According to a report by the United Nations Coordination Office, since October 7, 2023, and the terrorist attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel, approximately 8,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank, with over 700 of them killed in subsequent violence. Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, previously called on the Israeli government to hold accountable those responsible or complicit in 'promoting violence, forced displacement, and the confiscation of private land' in the West Bank. Palestinians believe that Israel occupied the West Bank along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip during the 1967 Middle East War and consider these areas part of their territory. The U.S. has sanctioned an Israeli NGO and a settler official for 'violence in the West Bank.' Netanyahu's reaction to the International Court of Justice ruling: The Jewish people are not occupiers in their land. The European Union unanimously sanctioned a group of West Bank settlers. Britain sanctioned four Israeli settlers; Cameron criticized the 'extremists.'