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Day 1 in office: Trump lifts sanctions on violent Israeli settlers 

January 21, 2025 at 2:06 pm

President Donald Trump signs a series of executive orders at the White House on 20 January, 2025, in Washington, DC [Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images]

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday reversing sanctions on violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The sanctions, originally imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden in February, targeted

17 far-right Israeli settlers and 16 entities accused of violence against Palestinians. It authorised the Departments of State and Treasury to freeze their US assets, denying them access to them, and generally bans Americans from dealing with them.

The reversal comes despite the escalating violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank and land seizures in the occupied territory.

Yesterday, illegal Israeli settlers launched attacks on the Palestinian villages of Al-Funduq and Jinsafut in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to homes, shops and vehicles, reported Wafa news agency.

In response, the Palestinian Authority warned today that removing the sanctions on the settlers would lead to an escalation of violence against Palestinians.

“This decision encourages settlers to commit more crimes,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, said in a statement.

He called on the new US administration to “intervene to stop these crimes and Israeli policies that will not bring peace and security to anyone.”

“Lifting sanctions on extremist settlers encourages them to commit more crimes against our people. Our efforts continue to stop settler terrorism and remove barriers,” it added

In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Trump’s second term begins: Foreign policy for the American Imperium