US to impose new sanctions against occupied West Bank outposts

The Biden Administration is expected to impose new sanctions on two illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank that were used as a base for attacks by extremist illegal Israeli settlers against Palestinians, Axios reported late yesterday, citing three US officials, according to Reuters.

The sanctions, expected to be imposed as soon as Thursday, are intended to send a message that the US is not only targeting individuals but also entities involved in providing logistical and financial support to attacks against Palestinians, Axios said citing one US official.

New sanctions will also be imposed on three Israeli settlers, the US officials told the news site.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

The Biden administration in February had imposed sanctions on four Israeli men it accused of being involved in settler violence in the West Bank, signalling growing US displeasure with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The administration also said in February that Israel’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was inconsistent with international law, signalling a return to long-standing US policy on the issue that had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built illegal Jewish-only settlements there.

Israel has stepped up raids in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October. United Nations’ records show at least 358 people in the Palestinian territory have been killed since 7 October, a quarter of them children.

The death toll in Gaza has already passed 31,000 since 7 October.

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