US imposes sanctions on far-right Israeli group

The United States imposed sanctions on Thursday (11) on a far-right Israeli group and four unauthorized outposts in the West Bank, a move against those the US says undermine stability in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Sanctions were also imposed on three Israeli individuals, and the US called on the Israeli government to take steps to hold extremists accountable for actions that it says undermine hopes for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Thursday’s sanctions targeted the Israeli nonprofit Lehava, which opposes Jewish assimilation of non-Jews.

The Biden administration said Lehava members have engaged in repeated acts of violence against Palestinians.

The group’s founder and leader, Ben-Zion Gopstein, has previously been sanctioned by the United States. In addition, the United Kingdom has also imposed sanctions on Lehava.

The United States also imposed sanctions on four unauthorized outposts in the West Bank that the U.S. State Department said had been “weaponized” to displace Palestinians by cutting off grazing land, limiting access to water wells and launching violent attacks against neighboring Palestinians.

One of the outposts is a farm “established on grazing lands belonging to the Palestinian community, and settlers at this outpost regularly attack the community’s herders and prevent their access to grazing lands through acts of violence,” according to the State Department.

Two other Israelis were punished for being leaders of Tsav 9, a previously punished group that attacked convoys carrying humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, the document said.

The measure prohibits Americans from doing business with the individuals and entities targeted by the orders and freezes all their U.S. assets. It was not clear whether any of the targets own such assets.

Deeply concerned

“The United States remains deeply concerned about extremist violence and instability in the West Bank, which undermines Israel’s own security,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“We strongly encourage the government of Israel to take immediate steps to hold these individuals and entities accountable. In the absence of such steps, we will continue to impose our own accountability measures,” he added.

The Biden administration’s actions against Israeli settlers have upset far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition, who support the expansion of Jewish settlements and, ultimately, the annexation of the West Bank, which Palestinians want as part of a future state.

Gopstein, the most prominent Israeli figure targeted by US sanctions, is a close associate and has ties to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who also lives in a West Bank settlement.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the heart of an independent state. Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical ties to the land, having built Jewish settlements there that most countries consider illegal.

In February, the Biden administration said the settlements were inconsistent with international law, signaling a return to long-standing U.S. policy on the issue that was reversed by the Trump administration.