Biden Issues Executive Order for Measures to Combat West Bank Violence - White House
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Thursday to implement new measures on actors behind violence in the West Bank, including the use of sanctions, according to senior administration officials.
The Biden administration announced a new sanctions program meant to address violent and destabilizing actions in the West Bank, amid heightened tensions in the area between Palestinians and Israeli settlers.
"Today, President Biden is signing a new executive order to implement a set of new measures to address actions that undermine peace, security, and stability in the West Bank. Under this new EO, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Treasury, in consultation with one another, have the ability to sanction foreign nationals engaged in actions that include the directing or participating in acts or threats of violence against civilians, intimidating civilians, to cause them to leave their homes, destroying or seizing property, and acts of terrorism," an official said at a press briefing.
The official added that the State Department will be announcing an initial set of sanctions against four individuals on Thursday, including ones that have "directly perpetrated violence, and those who have engaged in repeated acts of intimidation, property destruction, leading to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities."
❗️Biden has signed an executive order imposing sanctions against Jewish settlers in the West Bank, the White House said. pic.twitter.com/e3YgKiIRHj
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One individual "initiated and led a riot which involves setting vehicles and buildings on fire, assaulting civilians, causing damage to property, which resulted … in the death of a Palestinian civilian." Another assaulted a farmer and Israeli activists with stones, resulting in injuries requiring medical treatment. A third attempted to break windows of passing vehicles, blocked roads, and other acts of intimidation.
2 December 2023, 02:49 GMT
New US sanctions on violent and destabilizing actors in the West Bank are not intended to target citizens of the United States, a senior administration official said on Thursday.
“American citizens are not the intended target of this executive order. The measure is focused on foreign nationals,” the senior administration official said.
