Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that the U.S. State Department will begin barring Israeli settlers accused of carrying out violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank from entering the United States.
“Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities,” Mr. Blinken said in a press statement.
The move comes a month after Israel was granted entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program (VWP), allowing most Israeli citizens a visa-free method of entry into the United States.
Biden administration officials have repeatedly expressed concerns with their Israeli counterparts about settlers who have for years built up settlement communities in the West Bank. These settlements have often been a point of contention in the long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict, with opponents arguing that the settlements increasingly carve into territory claimed by the Palestinian people and undermine efforts at a two-state solution.
“We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank. As President [Joe] Biden has repeatedly said, those attacks are unacceptable,” Mr. Blinken said on Tuesday. “Last week in Israel, I made clear that the United States is ready to take action using our own authorities.”
Mr. Blinken said the Biden administration is emphasizing the need to deescalate the violence with authorities on both sides.
“We also continue to engage with the Israeli leadership to make clear that Israel must take additional measures to protect Palestinian civilians from extremist attacks. We will also continue to engage the Palestinian Authority to make clear it must do more to curb Palestinian attacks against Israelis,” Mr. Blinken said. “Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have the responsibility to uphold stability in the West Bank.”
Mr. Blinken did not name any specific individuals who would be subjected to these visa restrictions.
At a Tuesday briefing, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said current laws prohibit naming any of the Israeli citizens barred from entry into the United States under this new action.
Mr. Miller said any Israeli citizens who already held U.S. visas who have been designated for these new sanctions will be notified that their visas have been revoked. He said other sanctioned Israeli settlers who did not previously hold a current U.S. visa who attempt to enter the United States will see their entry requests rejected in the VWP system and will see their visa applications rejected if they seek U.S. entry through that pathway.
Long-Running Violence in West Bank
The West Bank has seen similar violent flare-ups between Israeli settlers and Palestinians for years, but Mr. Miller confirmed that these new visa actions represent the first U.S. sanctions against Israeli settlers in several years.
The new U.S. sanctions come after Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7 and carried out extensive attacks, killing some 1,200 Israelis and taking around 200 more hostage, provoking an Israeli military response throughout the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is geographically separated from the Gaza Strip and had seen its share of violence in the months prior the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Israeli military forces conducted a raid on the Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank on June 19 to arrest two wanted individuals. The raid devolved into a gun battle. In the end, at least five Palestinians were killed and more than 90 were injured.
The day after the Israeli military raid, a pair of Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis and injured four more near an Israeli settlement of Eli in the West Bank. The day after that, hundreds of Israeli settlers entered the neighboring Palestinian community of Turmus Ayya and set fire to dozens of cars and homes.
Just days after the series of violent attacks following the Jenin camp raid, the Israeli government approved plans for the construction of over 5,000 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Violence between Israeli settlers and Palestinians continued in the West Bank throughout the summer.
“There was a surge in violence leading up to Oct. 7. There has been a significant increase from that already heightened level of violence since October 7,” Mr. Miller said on Tuesday.
Mr. Miller said the new U.S. visa restrictions were now warranted as “we have not seen sufficient levels of actions by the government of Israel that we think hold people properly accountable.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.