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Feb. 1 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden on Thursday targeted extremist West Bank Israeli settlers for sanctions, charging that their actions against Palestinians are threatening to widen the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and regionally, as well. In a White House statement, Biden said the violence has forced the displacement of people and villages and has destroyed property.
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"[The violence] has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel and the broader Middle East region," Biden said.
"These actions undermine the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity and freedom."
Under the new sanctions regime, the United States blacklisted David Chai Chasdai, 29, Einan Tanjil, 21, Shalom Zicherman, 32 and Yinon Levi, 31.
The U.S. State Department in a statement accused Chasdai of leading a riot that led to the death of a Palestinian civilian in the Palestinian town of Huwara.
Tanjil was accused of assaulting Palestinian farmers and Israeli activists with stones and clubs, while video evidence implicates Zicherman in assaults of Israeli activists in the West Bank. Biden administration officials state that he injured at least two activists he had cornered.
Levi allegedly "led a group of settlers who engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear in the West Bank," according to the State Department.
Levi is accused of regularly leading settlers from the Meitarim Farm outpost in the South Hebron Hills to assault Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, threatening them with violence if they did not leave their homes. The State Department said they burned fields and destroyed property and repeatedly attacked West Bank communities.
The sanctions freeze all assets of those named and bars U.S. citizens and residents from doing business with them.
"Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Thursday. "The United States will continue to take actions to advance the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution, and is committed to the safety, security, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians alike."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed threats posed by West Bank settlers. In a statement on X, his office said "the overwhelming majority of residents of Judea and Samaria are law-abiding citizens, many of whom are fighting -- as conscripts and reservists -- to protect Israel.
"Israel against all Israelis who break the law, everywhere; therefore, exceptional measures are unnecessary."
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Biden's executive order allows the Treasury to level financial sanctions against those participating in violence against peaceful civilians in the West Bank.
He said recent acts have intimidated civilians, destroyed property and perpetrated other terrorist activities.
"Today's actions seek to promote peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike," Sullivan said in Thursday's statement.
The Biden administration has repeatedly voiced concern about extremists settlers, and on Thursday the president said their actions undermine Israel's security, as well, because of its potential to destabilize the region while threatening U.S. personnel and interests.
"For these reasons, these actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States," Biden said.
Biden sent a similar message to Congress, saying sanctions will be levied against those taking part in violence and displacements in the West Bank, and that these sanctions allow authorities to block or freeze assets that are in the control of U.S. institutions.
The move comes after the United States early December unveiled powers to issue visa bans against extremist settlers, a rare punitive policy from the Biden administration at a time it was voicing steadfast support for its war against Iran-backed Hamas.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 16,000 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank since 2009 and more than 10,400 structures destroyed as of the end of January.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, 372 Palestinians have been killed, including 94 children, in the West Bank. Of those deaths, the vast majority were at the hands of the Israel military, but at least eight have been blamed on settlers, the U.N. office said in a Thursday statement.
