France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (C), Palestinian Interior Minister Ziad al Reeh (C-L) and Governor of Ramallah Laila Ghannam (4th-R) visit an area where Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to a car and a building in Ramallah. AFP
“Violent settlers, fueled by the inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence by members of the Israeli cabinet, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and empowered by extremist organizations, like Regavim and Amana, have carried out over 1,270 recorded attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, averaging more than three violent attacks per day,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to the US President, according to CNN.
“Given their critical roles in driving policies that promote settler violence, weaken the Palestinian Authority, facilitate de facto and de jure annexation, and destabilize the West Bank, we urge you to sanction Finance Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,” they wrote.
CNN said the letter was signed by a significant number of Democrats — 17 senators and 71 members of the House of Representatives — and was sent at the end of October, before Donald Trump's victory in the US election.
It was made public “on Thursday to pressure Biden to take action during his final months in office as frustration grows from within Biden’s party about his administration’s seeming unwillingness to hold the Israeli government to account,” CNN reported.
“We’ve not yet gotten a response from the White House, and we think the clock is ticking in the aftermath of the election,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, one of the lead lawmakers who signed the letter, said: “We do think that there’s a pretty short window for the Biden administration to take this action.”
“We see President-elect Trump’s nominations, and we think it’s more important than ever that President Biden right now state that the United States is not going to be a rubber stamp to the Netanyahu government’s extreme actions on the West Bank,” he said.
In February, Biden issued an executive order allowing sanctions on those undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” The lawmakers urged the president to use this authority to sanction Smotrich and Ben-Gvir.
Short link: