US imposes new sanctions on Israeli settlers amid West Bank violence

State Department sanctions one Israeli NGO and an individual over extremist settler violence against Palestinians

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WASHINGTON:

The US on Wednesday announced new sanctions against an Israeli NGO and an individual over extremist settler violence in the occupied West Bank against Palestinians.

The State Department announced it is imposing sanctions on Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organisation, which the US accused of providing material support to US-designated outpost Meitarim Farm, and US-designated individuals Yinon Levi, Neriya Ben Pazi and Zvi Bar Yosef.

The agency is also sanctioning Yitzhak Levi Filant (Filant), the civilian security coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank, accusing him of leading a group of armed settlers to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them from their lands.

"Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security, and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region. It is critical that the Government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

"The United States will continue to take action to promote accountability for those who commit and support extremist violence affecting the West Bank," he added.

The announcement came following a large-scale ground and air assault by Israel on the northern region of the occupied West Bank.

Read also: Israel to evacuate Palestinians from northern West Bank

At least nine Palestinians have been killed since the start of the operation, according to the latest figures released by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called early Wednesday for dealing with the northern West Bank with the same measures applied by the army in Gaza, including the evacuation of residents.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,500, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 660 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.