CNN
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The Biden administration on Monday imposed sanctions on Israel’s largest settlement development organization as part of recent U.S. actions targeting organizations that foment instability in the occupied West Bank.
The administration has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions since President Joe Biden issued an executive order in February authorizing sanctions against those who undermine “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” The move comes as Democrats against Biden impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli Cabinet members, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, for their role in inciting settler violence in the West Bank. The move comes amid strong calls for action in the final months of his term. There is growing frustration within Biden’s own party over the Biden administration’s seeming reluctance to punish the Israeli government.
President-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to take any punitive measures against Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, and instead his policies are likely to embrace them. His choice as U.S. ambassador to Israel, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, is staunchly pro-Israel and has expressed support for the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
On Monday, sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department hit Amana, “the largest organization involved in the development of settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank.” Amana “has established dozens of illegal settler outposts and has directly engaged in the stripping of private land owned by Palestinians in support of its establishment,” according to the State Department.
The organization “maintains ties to various individuals previously sanctioned by the U.S. government and its partners for committing acts of violence in the West Bank,” the Treasury Department said in a press release. The Treasury Department also sanctioned Binyanei Bar Amana, a subsidiary of Amana, “a construction and development company that builds and sells housing in settlements and outposts in the West Bank.”
In a parallel move, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on three companies and three individuals “for their involvement in violence against civilians and the destruction and confiscation of property.”
In a late October letter, a group of nearly 90 Democratic members of Congress called on Mr. Biden to impose sanctions on Mr. Smotrich and Mr. Ben Gvir. They released the letter last week to increase pressure on the administration.
The letter also called for sanctions against Amana, which were imposed on Monday.
CNN’s Lauren Izso contributed reporting.
