WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday imposed sanctions on four Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Under the executive order financial sanctions and visa bans were placed against four individuals.
According to the order the settlers were involved in acts of violence, threatening and attempting to destroy Palestinian property.
Under sanctions the four individuals could not use the US financial system and bar American citizens from dealing with them.
Biden has been under immense pressure for his strong support for Israel amid rising casualties in the war in Gaza that started on October 7.
Biden takes rare step
The US President’s order is a rare step against Israeli settlers who. He has also pressed Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to show greater restraint in its military operations in Gaza.
Earlier Biden had spoken out against attacks by Israeli settlers and vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the violence.
He added that the violence by extremist settlers amounted to pour gas on the already burning fires in the Middle East.
Under the order the Treasury Department will have the authority to impose financial sanctions on settlers engaged in violence, but is not meant to target US citizens.
In December the State Department had said it would impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers for attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 27,019 in ongoing relentless Israeli strikes since October 7, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
