Latest Developments
The European Union (EU) on July 15 imposed sanctions against five Israelis and three organizations in the West Bank under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. “The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank,” the EU stated. The designees include “extremist settlers” Ben-Zion Gopstein and Isaschar Manne, as well as Tsav 9, an activist organization that the EU said had “regularly blocked humanitarian aid trucks” en route to the Gaza Strip. All three are also sanctioned in the United States. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed the EU sanctions crossed “a red line” and were an “inappropriate and unacceptable step between friendships.”
Expert Analysis
“When combined with the Biden administration’s executive order, we are seeing the establishment of a transatlantic sanctions architecture targeting a close democratic ally. That needs to stop before we see a chilling effect on commerce.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor
“The Biden administration continues to draw false parallels between Israelis in the West Bank and Palestinian terrorists. U.S. sanctions against West Bank Israelis have opened the floodgates for the EU to do the same and worse, and the Europeans have eagerly seized this opportunity.” — David May, FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst
“While violence is deplorable, regardless of whether Palestinians or Israelis commit it, the EU’s action fails to target the real source of the problem. West Bank Palestinian terrorist groups, primarily supported by Iran, have led a campaign of increased violence for over three years. Brussels should understand that targeting terrorist groups, the arms dealers providing them with weapons, and the financial networks that support them is a much more effective strategy for ensuring stability in the West Bank.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal
Washington Targets West Bank Settlers
President Joe Biden issued an executive order on February 1 targeting “extremist settler violence” in the West Bank. In the ensuing months, the Biden administration has imposed sanctions on multiple individuals and entities linked to West Bank violence.
In April, the administration imposed sanctions on Gopstein, “the founder and leader of a Lehava, an organization whose members have engaged in violence, including assaults on Palestinians,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said. In June, the administration designated Tsav 9 for “blocking, harassing, and damaging” humanitarian aid convoys.
The administration rolled out the latest round of West Bank sanctions on July 11. Those designations include Manne, whom the State Department said had established a farm outpost “in the South Hebron Hills in 2020 after seizing 150 hectares of land.” Since then, Manne’s outpost “has nearly doubled” in size and, according to State, “settlers from this outpost regularly attack community shepherds and prevent their access to the pastureland through acts of violence.”
Palestinian Terrorism in the West Bank
Terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank has grown in recent years as Iran has increased its assistance to terrorist organizations in the area, providing local groups with financial support, technical knowledge, and training.
In March, Israeli forces intercepted a Palestinian man in the West Bank town of Zeita, whom they said was en route to commit a suicide attack in Israel. In May, Israeli forces detained three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists suspected of planning bombing attacks. The Shin Bet said that IDF troops had arrested the operatives in the West Bank town of Yabad, which is west of Jenin. The men “acted under the directives of the PIJ headquarters in Lebanon, to carry out significant attacks, using remote-detonated explosives against IDF troops in the area,” the Shin Bet said.
On June 6, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on a Palestinian terrorist group known as Arin al-Usoud (“The Lions’ Den”) but refrained from designating it as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” or “as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The Lions’ Den is based in the West Bank city of Nablus and is responsible for several terrorist attacks on Israeli and Palestinian targets.
“Mapping Terrorism in the West Bank,” by Joe Truzman
“State Department Sanctions Armed Palestinian Group in Nablus But Refrains From Terrorist Designation,” FDD Flash Brief
“Israel Strikes at Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad Terrorists in Jenin,” FDD Flash Brief
