In a rare punitive move against Israel, the State Department said Tuesday it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. The move comes despite an Israel Hayom exclusive report showing that cases of settlers acting violently (including what is classified as "serious incidents") dropped by some 50% in the first weeks since the outbreak of the war.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the step after warning Israel last week that President Joe Biden's administration would be taking action over the attacks. Blinken did not announce individual visa bans, but department spokesman Matthew Miller said the bans would be implemented starting Tuesday and would cover "dozens" of settlers and their families, with more to come if the settler violence continued. He wouldn't give a number and refused to identify any of those targeted due to confidentiality reasons, although it appears the figures actually show a drop in violence.
According to the exclusive figures shared by Israel Hayom, compared to the same period last year, there has been an overall decrease of almost 50% in which Jews engaged in violent offenses in Judea and Samaria.
The data shows that in the period starting on October 7, when the war began, and November 7, there were 97 incidents of various illegal activities attributed to Jews, in that area, down from 184 offenses in the equivalent period in 2022.
The decrease is observed across the whole spectrum of offenses:: violent clashes (20 compared to 53), popular terrorism (47 compared to 103), violent attacks (5 compared to 10), assaults on security forces (4 compared to 10), and agricultural vandalism (97 compared to 184). In the category of "serious attacks," which usually concern US officials the most, there were zero incidents in the measured 30 days, compared to 3 incidents during the same period a year earlier.
The decision comes at a sensitive moment in US-Israeli relations. The Biden administration has firmly backed Israel since it was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, even as international criticism of Israel has mounted.
The Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the development.
In recent weeks, the administration has stepped up calls on Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties as the Israelis expand their offensive and target densely populated southern Gaza. The US has refrained from outright criticism of that offensive. It has been increasingly outspoken, however, about settler violence in the West Bank and Israel's failure to respond to US calls to stop it.
"We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank," Blinken said in a statement. "As President Biden has repeatedly said, those attacks are unacceptable."
It appears, though, that Tuesday's announcement was more political than security-related. In December 2022, Israel Hayom exclusively reported that the US was considering blacklisting alleged perpetrators of violence in Judea and Samaria." That report continued to explain that "such a step, which could be unprecedented in its harshness, would be part of the new policy undertaken by the embassy in which those who are suspected to have been involved in violence towards Arabs or engaged in intimidation or incitement to violence will be added to a special list. This policy will likely cast a wide net as it would include even those who have not been convicted in court."
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that since Oct. 7 at least eight Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by settlers. The UN agency said it has recorded 314 attacks by settlers that have resulted in Palestinian casualties, damage to Palestinian-owned property, or both. One-third of the attacks included threats with firearms, including shootings, and in nearly half of the attacks, the settlers were accompanied or actively supported by Israeli forces.
"Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians' access to essential services and necessities," Blinken said.
He said the US would continue to seek accountability for settler violence against Palestinians as well as Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel, particularly as tensions are extremely high due to the conflict in Gaza.
"Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have the responsibility to uphold stability in the West Bank," Blinken said. "Instability in the West Bank both harms the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel's national security interests."
Tuesday's move comes just a month after Israel was granted entry into the US Visa Waiver Program, which allows its citizens visa-free entry into the US Those targeted by the action will not be eligible for the program, and those who hold current US visas will have them revoked.
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