Trump’s decision is a reversal of a major policy action by Biden resulting in these settlers’ US assets being frozen.
US President Donald Trump has rescinded an executive order by the Biden administration that imposed sanctions on extremist illegal Jewish settler groups and individuals in the occupied West Bank.
It was among 78 executive orders rescinded by Trump not long after he stepped into the Oval Office on Monday, reported the Anadolu news agency.
In a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy, newly inaugurated President Donald Trump announced on Monday the rescindment of sanctions that had been imposed by the previous Biden administration on Israeli settler groups in the West Bank.
The move was disclosed via the new… pic.twitter.com/Z7rnz7myEE
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 21, 2025
Executive order 14115 titled “Imposing Certain Sanctions on Persons Undermining Peace, Security and Stability in the West Bank” targeted illegal settlers who committed “high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction,” the report added.
The order, signed by Biden on February 1, 2024, stated that illegal settler violence “undermines the foreign policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution and ensuring Israelis and Palestinians can attain equal measures of security, prosperity and freedom.”
Trump’s decision is a reversal of a major policy action by Biden resulting in these settlers’ US assets being frozen and barring Americans from dealing with them.
PA’s Condemnation
The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday condemned Trump’s decision saying it “encourages settlers” in their violence.
“This decision encourages settlers to commit more crimes,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, said in a statement cited by Anadolu.
Jenin in the West Bank is besieged & an Israeli military incursion has already killed seven Palestinians & wounded more than 35. Every city, town & village is totally isolated with strict military checkpoints that prevent all movement except for the Israeli settlers who, with the…
— Hanan Ashrawi (@DrHananAshrawi) January 21, 2025
He called on the new US administration to “intervene to stop these crimes and Israeli policies that will not bring peace and security to anyone.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also denounced the US move, saying “Lifting sanctions on extremist settlers encourages them to commit more crimes against our people.”
“Our efforts continue to stop settler terrorism and remove barriers,” it added.
Increased Settler Violence
Since Sunday night, illegal settlers have increased their attacks on Palestinians and their properties across the West Bank, setting fire to homes, shops and vehicles.
Also on Monday evening, 21 Palestinians were injured in an attack by illegal Jewish settlers on the town of Al-Funduq and Jinsafut near Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.
BREAKING:
For the second night in a row, armed Israeli settlers are burning Palestinian homes, shops and cars in the occupied West Bank, terrorizing families as they sleep.
No justification. Just pure terror and destruction.
And not one peep from the international community. pic.twitter.com/Ksr6dEeSl7
— sarah (@sahouraxo) January 20, 2025
The attack took place under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, reported WAFA.
Jalal Bashir, the head of the Jinsafut Village Council, informed WAFA that dozens of settlers raided the village, setting fire to three homes, a nursery and a carpentry workshop situated along the Qalqilya-Nablus main road. The illegal settlers also torched several vehicles owned by Palestinian residents.
Around 860 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In July last year, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
(PC, Anadolu, WAFA)
