US expected to impose new sanctions against occupied West Bank outposts – report

(Reuters) : The Biden Administration is expected to impose new sanctions on two illegal outposts in the occupied West Bank that were used as a base for attacks by “extremist” Israeli settlers against Palestinians, Axios reported late on Wednesday, citing three U.S. officials.

The sanctions, expected to be imposed as soon as Thursday, are intended to send a message that the U.S. is not only targeting individuals but also entities involved in providing logistical and financial support to attacks against Palestinians, Axios said citing one U.S. official.

New sanctions will also be imposed on three Israeli settlers, the U.S. officials told Axios.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the Axios report.

The Biden administration in February had imposed sanctions on four Israeli men it accused of being involved in settler violence in the West Bank, signalling growing U.S. displeasure with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The administration also said in February that Israel’s expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank was inconsistent with international law, signalling a return to long-standing U.S. policy on the issue that had been reversed by the previous administration of Donald Trump.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and biblical ties to the land.

Israel has stepped up raids in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October. United Nations’ records show at least 358 people in the Palestinian territory have been killed since Oct. 7, a quarter of them children.

The death toll in Gaza has already passed 31,000 since Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people by Israeli tallies.