Ben Gvir said that US sanctions against settlers are a “red line” (Reuters)
Israeli banks said on Monday that they are committed to the US sanctions imposed on 4 settlers in the West Bank, accused of committing acts of violence against Palestinians, despite calls from the Israeli Minister of Finance and the Minister of National Security not to comply with the sanctions.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir - in a post on the X platform - described restricting settlers' bank accounts as crossing a red line, which they should not allow.
Ben Gvir said that the CEOs of banks are implementing the instructions of external parties, in reference to the United States announcing sanctions on 4 settlers in the West Bank, calling on the responsible authorities to take immediate action to restore the closed bank accounts.
The Israeli Minister of National Security added that he greatly values the allies, but that none of them should be allowed to run the State of Israel.
In turn, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said today that the sanctions imposed by the American administration on 4 settlers are directed against all of Israel.
Smotrich said in a tweet on the X platform, “Today against 4 citizens, tomorrow against half a million settlers, and after two days against the entire country.”
The leader of the far-right "Religious Zionism" party continued, "We will not stand aside in the face of this injustice."
Promote settlement
Last Thursday, Smotrich pledged to continue and strengthen settlements, after US President Joe Biden signed a new executive order allowing the imposition of sanctions on Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in addition to including 4 of them on the blacklist.
Two senior officials in the Biden administration, who spoke to the media, on condition of anonymity, said, “The new executive order signed by Biden prevents the four Israeli settlers (whose names or positions were not mentioned) from accessing the American financial system, and freezes any property they have in the states.” United States, and prevents them from entering the country.
US citizens are also prohibited from dealing with them (by financing them or contributing money to them), according to the same source.
These measures come at a time when settler violence against Palestinians across the West Bank has escalated significantly for months, amid the Israeli aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Israeli "Peace Now" movement estimates that more than 700,000 settlers reside in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The United Nations and most of the international community consider Israeli settlement in the territories occupied in 1967 illegal, and Israel calls to stop it to no avail, warning that it undermines the chances of resolving the conflict, in accordance with the principle of the two-state solution.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies