Nearly 90 congressional Democrats call on Biden to sanction far-right Israeli ministers

By Jennifer Hansler, CNN

Washington (CNN) — Nearly 90 congressional Democrats are calling on President Joe Biden to impose sanctions on two far-right Israeli government officials for their roles in inciting settler violence in the West Bank.

“Violent settlers, fueled by the inflammatory rhetoric and incitement to violence by members of the Israeli cabinet, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and empowered by extremist organizations like Regavim and Amana, have carried out over 1,270 recorded attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, averaging more than three violent attacks per day,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter to the US President.

“Given their critical roles in driving policies that promote settler violence, weaken the Palestinian Authority, facilitate de facto and de jure annexation, and destabilize the West Bank, we urge you to sanction Finance Minister (Bezalel) Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir,” they wrote.

The letter was signed by a significant number of Democrats – 17 senators and 71 members of the House of Representatives – and was sent at the end of October, before the US election which Donald Trump won. It was made public on Thursday in order to pressure Biden to take action during his final months in office as frustration grows from within Biden’s own party about his administration’s seeming unwillingness to hold the Israeli government to account.

“We’ve not yet gotten a response from the White House, and we think the clock is ticking in the aftermath of the election,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, one of the lead lawmakers who signed the letter. “We do think that there’s a pretty short window, obviously, for the Biden administration to take this action.”

“We see President-elect Trump’s nominations, and we think it’s more important than ever that President Biden right now state that the United States is not going to be a rubber stamp to the Netanyahu government’s extreme actions on the West Bank,” he said.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

In February, Biden issued an executive order allowing sanctions on those undermining “peace, security, and stability in the West Bank.” The lawmakers urged the president to sanction Smotrich and Ben Gvir using this authority.

Although officials within the Biden administration have denounced Smotrich and Ben Gvir for their extremist rhetoric and actions in the West Bank, they have yet to impose sanctions on them. Just this week, Smotrich, on the heels of Trump’s reelection, ordered preparations for the annexation of settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In June, he announced plans to legally recognize five unauthorized Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. Ben Gvir has previously been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism.

The lawmakers also urged Biden to sanction two organizations – Amana, which they said “has long played a key role in establishing the majority of West Bank settlements and provides loans and building infrastructure for new outposts that are illegal under Israeli law” and Regavim, “which was co-founded by Smotrich” and whose “mission is to obstruct Palestinian construction in the West Bank.”

“With radical officials in the Netanyahu government continuing to enable settler violence and enact annexationist policies, it is clear that further sanctions are urgently needed,” the lawmakers wrote. “The key individuals and entities that are destabilizing the West Bank – thereby also threatening the security of Israel and the broader region, and US
national security as well – should be directly held accountable.”

“The message that such actions are unacceptable from leaders, including within the Israeli government, must be heard,” they wrote in the letter, which was also led by Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Rep. Sean Casten.

Last week, United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his country is considering sanctions on the two far-right ministers.

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