US slaps new sanctions on Israeli settlers over West Bank violence
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he views ‘with utmost severity’ new sanctions imposed by Washington
The United States on Wednesday announced new sanctions on West Bank settlers over violence against Palestinians, urging greater accountability efforts by its ally Israel, which responded with anger to the move.
The sanctions were announced on the same day that Israel launched a wide-scale attack on the West Bank that it said killed nine Palestinian fighters, despite warnings by President Joe Biden’s administration against expanding the war in Gaza.
“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“It is critical that the government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank,” he said.
The latest sanction targets included Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli group that has supported the unauthorised settler outpost of Meitarim Farm in the south Hebron Hills.
