The Biden administration announced Monday it would impose further sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities in the West Bank, a move that could hamstring President-elect Donald Trump’s support of settlement building in the disputed territory.
The sanctions are a follow-up to President Biden’s February executive order authorizing him to punish Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians in the West Bank. Mr. Biden has argued that the sanctions are necessary because some of the settlers are engaging in violence that has killed or displaced Palestinians.
By issuing the sanctions two months before Mr. Trump returns to the White House, Mr. Biden is making it tougher for certain individuals and entities to operate in the region. In his first term as president, Mr. Trump abandoned the decades-long U.S. opposition to the settlements and proposed a Mideast peace that would have let Israel keep them all.
Mr. Trump has not explicitly stated a policy toward the settlements in his second term. Still, his new administration picks are staunchly pro-Israel, suggesting he won’t stand in the way of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government from advancing settlement building. For example, Mike Huckabee, Mr. Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Israel, said in a recent radio interview that “of course” Israel annexation is possible.
Pete Hegseth, the Iraq War veteran whom Mr. Trump wants as defense secretary, has also suggested support for the Israeli settlers.
While Mr. Trump can undo Mr. Biden’s executive order with one of his own, it’s unclear how easily a president can remove sanctions once they’re in place. Sanctions issued against foreign individuals or entities typically run through the State and Treasury departments, creating a bureaucratic web.
The Biden administration sanctioned Amana, a settlement development organization, and its construction subsidiary, Binyaneir Bar Amana. The United Kingdom and Canada also sanctioned the entities.
Last month, 88 Democrats sent a letter to Mr. Biden demanding he blacklist the organization.
The lawmakers also asked Mr. Biden to sanction two Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whom they say encouraged and facilitated the expansion of Israel settlements and moving to weaken the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank.
Mr. Biden didn’t impose sanctions against the two ministers.
Under the sanctions, any of Amana or its subsidiary’s assets, property or interest cannot be routed through the U.S. financial system. In addition, U.S. companies could be penalized if they do business with the sanctioned individual or entities.
“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who further destabilize conditions in the West Bank and support extremist violence in the region,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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