The Biden administration imposes sanctions on West Bank-based Lions’ Den, accusing it of threatening “peace and stability.”
Washington DC – The United States has imposed sanctions on a Palestinian group in the occupied West Bank, based on a White House executive order previously used to penalize violent Israeli settlers.
The United States on Thursday targeted the Lions’ Den, an armed group born in Nablus in 2022 and which has claimed several attacks against Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
“The United States condemns all acts of violence in the West Bank, regardless of perpetrators, and we will use the tools at our disposal to denounce and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there.” , said the US State Department. in a report.
He cites several attacks attributed to Lions’ Den fighters dating back to October 2022.
The sanctions block the group’s assets in the United States and largely prohibit American citizens from engaging in transitions with them.
The sanctions were issued under Executive Order (EO) 14115, which establishes a legal framework for U.S. sanctions against individuals and entities “undermining peace, security, and stability” in the West Bank.
When President Joe Biden issued the executive order in February, it was widely seen as an effort to quell settler violence against Palestinians that had intensified since the outbreak of the Gaza war.
But only a few private Israeli citizens have been sanctioned under the directive, as the Biden administration has resisted calls to penalize Israeli officials responsible for abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Earlier this week, Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen called on the Biden administration to sanction far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich under the same executive order.
“In my opinion, Smotrich should be subject to sanctions under this EO,” Van Hollen said.
The finance minister withheld taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority, and in March he also declared 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of the occupied West Bank Israeli state land.
“You have this person whose stated goal is basically for Israel to take over the entire West Bank,” Van Hollen said at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank.
But Washington has been reluctant to take significant action against Israel, as Biden administration officials often pledge unwavering support for the U.S. ally.
Reporting from Washington DC, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Mike Hanna said the lion’s den is a relatively small group, but has risen to prominence in the West Bank amid the war on Gaza.
Hanna said sanctions against the Palestinian group could be a “balancing exercise” compared to sanctions targeting settlers.
“Perhaps this is a way for the United States to demonstrate fairness in its relations with all groups in the region,” he said.