The United States on Wednesday announced new sanctions on West Bank settlers over violence against Palestinians, urging greater accountability efforts by its ally Israel, which responded with anger to the move.
The sanctions were announced on the same day that Israel launched a wide-scale attack on the West Bank that it said killed nine Palestinian fighters, despite warnings by President Joe Biden's administration against expanding the war in Gaza.
"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," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
"It is critical that the government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank," he said.
The latest sanction targets included Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli group that has supported the unauthorized settler outpost of Meitarim Farm in the south Hebron Hills.
Volunteers from the group earlier this year fenced off a village whose 250 Palestinian residents had all been forced to leave, the State Department said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who relies on support from far-right politicians who advocate for the establishment of new settlements on Palestinian land, denounced the move.
"Israel views with utmost severity the imposition of sanctions on citizens of Israel. The issue is in a pointed discussion with the US," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
Hashomer Yosh's website, using the biblical name for the West Bank, says the group helps "various farmers throughout Judea and Samaria, who bravely protect our lands and stand strong in the face of economic difficulties and frequent agricultural crime."
The Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
The State Department also imposed sanctions against Yitzhak Levi Filant, who was accused of leading armed settlers in setting up roadblocks and patrols with a goal of attacking Palestinians.
Since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, Israeli forces have also stepped up operations in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 and separated geographically from Gaza by Israeli territory.
At least 640 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP count based on Palestinian official figures.
The Biden administration has repeatedly voiced concern to Netanyahu about settler violence and about the expansion of settlements, but has made little impact on the Israeli government's decision-making.
Last month, the United States imposed sanctions on Lehava, a group of more than 10,000 members, which the State Department described as the "largest violent extremist organization in Israel."
US sanctions generally bar targets from the US financial system, leading Israeli banks to restrict dealings with sanctioned individuals for fear of repercussions.
The Biden administration, which has been pushing for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, has held off on imposing sanctions on government ministers leading the settlement policy.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also heads civil affairs at the defense ministry, earlier this month approved a new settlement on a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Bethlehem, saying he wanted to "fight against the dangerous project of creating a Palestinian state by creating facts on the ground."
