US President Joe Biden has ordered senior advisors to draft a directive exploring different options for legal measures against "violent" Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Politico got a hold of a snippet of an official White House memo outlining a refined American approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. An anonymous senior US official read out some of its sections off the record following Biden’s published op-ed in the Washington Post relating to the Ukrainian and Gaza crises.
"President Joe Biden directed top officials to prepare visa bans and sanctions for extremist Israeli settlers attacking and displacing Palestinians in the West Bank," the article cites.
The cabinet memo was circulated among top White House officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. The document instructs their respective offices to develop policy options for the prompt measures taken against perpetrators of violence aimed at West Bank locals.
The wording used by the POTUS in his op-ed suggests that he acknowledges the serious threat posed by the ongoing violence. Biden’s decision to take legal action on the matter came after his meeting on the Gaza situation with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy Jon Finer.
President Biden has expressed his commitment to issue "visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank."
The deteriorating situation in the West Bank is a direct result of the Palestine-Israel escalation. The West Bank and East Jerusalem (both are considered private Palestinian land) have seen a surge of Israeli incomers who choose to reside and build property there either for religious or economic reasons. The confrontation between the two groups has exacerbated ever since the October 7 attacks.
Now, as the Biden administration faces an unprecedented backlash from the pro-Palestine supporters (many of whom traditionally vote Democrat), the White House feels compelled to amend its policy in the region and take into consideration wider public interests.