President Joe Biden is anticipated to issue an executive order on Thursday targeting Israeli settlers who have been carrying out violent attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The order, which will be accompanied by the imposition of sanctions on individuals involved in such violence, aims to address the killing and displacement of many Palestinians from their lands.
The National Security Council declined to provide a comment. This action comes amid mounting pressure on Biden, including from within his party, to take a firmer stance on Israel’s military actions in response to the Hamas attack on October 7th. Additionally, it coincides with Biden’s scheduled visit to Michigan, a key battleground state with a significant Arab American population that has expressed dissatisfaction with his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Senior White House officials briefed Ron Dermer, a close adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, about the impending move during his visit to Washington. Far-right Israeli settlers in the West Bank have long been responsible for attacking many of the approximately 3 million Palestinians in the region, often intending to seize land claimed by Palestinians for a future state.
These attacks intensified after the October 7th Hamas assault, resulting in entire Palestinian villages being emptied.
