The United States announced today that it is imposing new sanctions on Israeli settler extremists accused of inciting violence in the occupied West Bank amid the war in the Gaza Strip.
The sanctions affect several settlers, including the director of an association, Hashomer Yos, as well as the extremist group Hilltop Youth, the State Department and the Treasury Department said in separate statements.
“The worsening violence and instability in the West Bank is harming Israeli and Palestinian interests in the long term, and the actions of violent organizations such as Hilltop Youth are only exacerbating the crisis,” noted Bradley Smith, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and financial information.
The Hilltop Youth extremist group is accused of murders, arson and other attacks aimed “to take revenge and intimidate Palestinian citizens,” the finance ministry said.
“We call on the Israeli government to take action” and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Foreign Ministry urged.
The US has already imposed a series of sanctions against Israeli settlers, angering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, almost a year ago, clashes between the Palestinians on the one hand and the army and settlers on the other, have intensified in the West Bank. More than 680 Palestinians have already been killed by soldiers or settlers, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. In the same period, at least 24 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed by Palestinian attacks or during military operations, according to official Israeli figures.
US sanctions freeze the potential assets of persons or organizations in the US and prohibit any financial dealings with them.
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