The president of United States, Joe Bidensigned an executive order this Thursday authorizing the imposition of sanctions on those who promote violent acts in the West Bank, where “the high levels of violence of the extremist settlers” have reached “intolerable levels“.

According to the US president, the levels of violence, added to the forced displacement of people and the destruction of property, also represent “a serious threat to the peacethe security and the stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel and the Middle East region.

“These actions undermine the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring that Israelis and Palestinians can achieve equal measures of security, prosperity and freedom,” Biden said in a note released by the White House.

In this context, Biden has ordered sanctions against the properties of those people identified by the Administration as responsible or complicit in violent actions in West Bank or that threaten the safety of the local population; or who have worked for companies that develop these actions.

For his part, the White House National Security AdvisorJake Sullivan, has pointed out that President Biden has reiterated on numerous occasions Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks by Hamas at the beginning of October, which left almost 1,200 dead.

Increase in violence” recorded in the West Bank

But it has also stressed that the US Administration is concerned about “the increase in violence” recorded in the West Bank “by extremist actors, in particular the increase in extremist settler violence”, which has reached “record” levels in 2023.

“This violence represents a serious threat to peacesecurity and stability in the West Bank, Israel and the Middle East region, and threatens the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States,” said Sullivan, subscribing to Biden’s words.

Thus things, the national security advisor has highlighted that Biden’s executive order will allow financial sanctions to be issued against those who direct or participate in acts of violence, intimidation or forced displacement of civilians, or participate in terrorist acts in the West Bank.

“The State Department will also announce today an initial set of designations under this new executive order“, Sullivan has advanced, highlighting that this measure adopted by Biden “seeks to promote peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”