The United States revealed on Thursday that it has imposed additional penalties on Israeli individuals and their organizations for participating in violent acts against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The State Department stated that the new penalties are meant to “encourage accountability for individuals and organizations linked to actions that undermine peace, security, and stability in the West Bank” and builds upon previous penalties imposed on Israelis involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The organizations targeted with sanctions include Moshes Farm and Zvis Farm, which the State Department identified as being used as a hub for violence against Palestinians.
The Israelis facing sanctions are Zvi Bar Yosef, the owner of Zvis Farm; Neriya Ben Pazi, who expelled “Palestinian shepherds from hundreds of acres of land and attacking “Palestinians near the village of Wadi as-Seeq;” and Moshe Sharvit, who “repeatedly harassed, threatened, and attacked Palestinian civilians and Israeli human rights defenders.”
The White House, in response to the sanctions, stated that settler violence poses a threat to peace in the West Bank.
“These individuals have engaged in repeated violence against Palestinians and in some cases, Israelis too in the West Bank,” John Kirby, national security communications adviser, told reporters. “And as we made clear before, extremists settler violence that we’ve seen increase sharply since the attacks on the 7th of October threatens peace, security, and stability of the West Bank.”
According to the State Department, the sanctions on individuals and entities are based on actions they were involved in that impact the West Bank, including “threats of violence targeting civilians, efforts to place civilians in reasonable fear of violence with the purpose or effect of necessitating a change of residence to avoid such violence, destruction of property, seizure or dispossession of property by private actors, or terrorist activity.”
