US issues new sanctions against Israeli citizen and NGO amid worsening West Bank violence

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The US State Department on Wednesday announced new sanctions on an Israeli citizen and NGO connected to violence in the occupied West Bank.

“As part of the United States’ efforts to address the extreme levels of instability and violence against civilians in the West Bank, we are taking additional actions today against those who engage in or provide material support for violent activities there,” a statement from department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Hashomer Yosh, an NGO the US accuses of providing material support to previously sanctioned people and groups, was named in the latest punitive measures.

“After all 250 Palestinian residents of Khirbet Zanuta were forced to leave in late January, Hashomer Yosh volunteers fenced off the village to prevent the residents from returning,” the statement added. "The volunteers also provided support by grazing the herds and purporting to 'guard' the outposts of US-designated individuals."

Also named was Yitzhak Levi Filant, civilian security co-ordinator of the Yitzhar settlement.

The State Department said the US would continue to take action to promote accountability for those committing or supporting violence affecting the occupied territory.

The sanctions will be imposed under an executive order on West Bank violence that President Joe Biden signed in February.

The US has issued a series of sanctions against Israeli settlers, settlements and other organisations - including a Palestinian militant group - linked to violence in the West Bank amid the continuing war in Gaza.

Settler attacks in the territory have risen dramatically since the war in Gaza began on October 7, with the UN documenting at least 1,250 incidents and 120 deaths as of August 12.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken this month said he had asked Israeli leaders to take action against the rise in violent attacks by settlers on Palestinians.

“We look to see action taken to prevent that kind of violence, action taken to hold people who are responsible for it accountable,” Mr Blinken said during a visit to Tel Aviv last week.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, asked in an interview with The Times of Israel this week whether such sanctions have been effective, said: “There’s still settler violence, so that’s deeply concerning. As President [Joe] Biden has made clear, it is unacceptable and we’ve condemned it in every case.

“We don’t look at any one tool in the toolbox as a panacea. It doesn’t mean that we want to ignore it, either, so we have issued sanctions."

The sanctions also come after at least nine Palestinians were killed amid Israeli military strikes on targets in the West Bank. Israel announced on Wednesday that it was launching an anti-terror raid in the occupied territory.

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