US puts sanctions on Israeli settlers over violence in West Bank

The sanctions on Wednesday targeted Hashomer Yosh, which describes itself as a volunteer organisation that aims to “protect” Israeli farmers in the West Bank, and Yitzhak Levi Filant, the civilian security coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus.

“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region,” the US Department of State said in a statement.

“It is critical that the Government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank.”

It added Hashomer Yosh fenced off the Palestinian village of Khirbet Zanuta earlier this year, preventing its displaced residents from returning to their homes.

Several Israeli media outlets have reported that Hashomer Yosh has received financial support from the Israeli government.

Washington also accused Filant of engaging in malign activities, including setting up roadblocks and conducting patrols earlier this year “to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them”.

The sanctions freeze the assets of Filant and Hashomer Yosh in the US and bar American citizens from engaging in financial transactions with them.

For years, Hashomer Yosh was able to raise funds in the US, including through JGive, a website that gathers donations for groups the Israeli government certifies as charities.

Wednesday’s measures come one day after a settler attack killed one Palestinian and injured three others near Bethlehem. Earlier in August, violent settlers also ravaged the village of Jit in the northern West Bank, killing a 23-year-old man.

The ransacking of Jit sparked international outrage and even verbal condemnation from Israeli officials. But Israel rarely ever criminally charges settlers for violence against Palestinians.

Moreover, Palestinian rights advocates say settler assaults happen under the watch – if not cooperation – of Israeli soldiers in the area.

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a US-based rights group that previously called for sanctions against Filant, welcomed Wednesday’s measures and urged penalties against Israeli officials involved in settler violence.

“Targeting the notorious Yitzhar security officer, Filant, is an important step in recognizing the institutional and state-backed nature of settler violence,” Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN, said in a statement.

“The sanctions will never put an end to settler violence unless they start targeting the state institutions and politicians who treat settlers as a tool of their expansionist policies.”

Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar said the US sanctions are “too little and maybe even too late”.

Eldar blamed far-right elements in the Israeli government, which he compared to ISIL (ISIS), for enabling settler violence.

“There are Jewish supremacists sitting in the cabinet meetings, and what they want is chaos. They are not afraid of the international community,” he told Al Jazeera.

This year, the US and some of its Western allies have sanctioned several violent settlers whom they describe as “extremists”.

But the administration of President Joe Biden has maintained its staunch support for Israel. Washington, which backs the Israeli army’s war in Gaza and deadly raids in the West Bank, authorised a $20bn arms deal with Israel earlier this month.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli military launched a large-scale offensive in the West Bank that has killed at least 10 people.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on Wednesday for the “temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians” in the West Bank to allow for the military operation, prompting fears that Israel may be planning for mass displacement orders in the territory.

The vast majority of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal. The settlement enterprise in the area captured by Israel in 1967 breaches the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the occupying power from transferring “parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.

The Biden administration says the settlements are “inconsistent with international law”.