Thursday, March 14, 2024

Report: US to impose sanctions on Judea & Samaria outposts

The Biden administration is expected to impose new sanctions on two outposts in Judea and Samaria that were supposedly used as a base for attacks by Israelis against Palestinian Arabs, Axios reported on Thursday citing three US officials.

A US official said the sanctions against the two outposts are meant to send the message that the US is targeting not only individuals but also entities that are involved in giving logistical and financial support to "attacks against Palestinian civilians."

According to the report, the second round of US sanctions against Israelis, which is expected to be imposed as early as Thursday, will also include sanctions against three Israeli citizens. The sanctions would freeze assets the three settlers and two outposts might have in the US, ban them from getting a visa to enter the US, and block them from using the US financial system.

Last month President Joe Biden signed an executive order allowing the US to sanction Israelis accused of "settler violence." Shortly thereafter, the US State Department announced sanctions against four Israeli citizens.

The sanctions have proven detrimental to their subjects after some Israeli banks decided to freeze the accounts of those who were sanctioned.