State Department spokesman Matthew Miller on Wednesday announced new sanctions against Israeli settlers in the West Bank, the Israel Times and AFP reported Thursday, to protest the violence against Palestinians. Subsequently, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issued a brief statement saying that Israel and the United States on the matter“Intense discussions.”.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement Wednesday, according to AFP, “Extremist settler violence in the west bank has caused severe humanitarian suffering, compromised Israel’s security and undermined prospects for peace and stability in the region.”
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller
“It is essential that the Israeli government hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the west bank,” the statement added.
The Israeli times said the Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the move. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office also issued a statement saying it would“Take seriously” the new US sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank, saying Israel was in“Intense discussions” with the US over the issue.
The Times of Israel previously reported that on the night of 15 August, dozens of Israeli settlers broke into Git and set fire to at least four homes and six cars, killing at least one person. According to a Xinhua News Agency report on August 27, Palestinian Health Authorities said on the 26th that several Israeli Jewish settlers attacked Palestinians in the southern city of Bethlehem in the west bank that day, one person was killed and three were injured.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tracks violence in the West Bank on a weekly basis, the New York Times reported. Israeli settlers carried out 25 attacks on Palestinians last week, according to the office’s latest count, which was carried out on Wednesday. The agency has documented some 1,250 attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property since the conflict began on October 7 last year.