US announces new sanctions against Israeli settlers in West Bank

Washington urges Israel to fight these groups “extremists” accused of stirring up violence. The United States announced new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, August 28. “The violence of extremist settlers in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security and undermines prospects for peace and stability in the region”State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“It is essential that the Israeli government hold accountable the individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank.”he added. This new round of sanctions targets in particular a non-governmental organization, Hashomer Yosh, and its leaders accused of providing material support to the informal settlement of Meitarim in the West Bank, according to the State Department.

Washington also sanctions Yitzhak Levi Filant, described as the “security” coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank. “In February 2024, he led a group of armed settlers who set up roadblocks and carried out patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians on their land and forcibly expel them.”added the same source.

The announcement comes on the same day that the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in the northern occupied West Bank, killing nine Palestinian fighters, it said.