U.S., EU SANCTION PROMINENT FAR-RIGHT ISRAELI ACTIVISTS, NGOS THAT FUNDRAISED FOR PREVIOUSLY SANCTIONED WEST BANK SETTLERS

U.S., EU Sanction Prominent Far-right Israeli Activists, NGOs That Fundraised for Previously Sanctioned West Bank Settlers

Against the backdrop of an escalation of violence in the West Bank, the U.S. announced new sanctions against Israeli far-right figures and groups, notably including two far-right NGOs for their roles in fundraising for settlers who have previously been sanctioned by the U.S.

April 19th, 18PM April 19th, 19PM

WASHINGTON - The U.S. announced Friday its third round of sanctions against extreme right-wing Israelis involved in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Bentzi Gopstein, a prominent far-right Israeli activist who is considered close to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The European Union also announced new sanctions on four Israeli settler activists and two extreme right-wing organizations, including the Lehava organization led by Gopstein.

Gopstein, who advises National Security Minister Ben-Gvir on police matters, was convicted earlier this year of incitement to racism stemming from remarks at a 2014 memorial rally for Meir Kahane, in which he referred to "the enemies within us" as a "cancer," adding that the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque are "the largest cancerous growth that we have here, and so long as the government of Israel will not get a hold of itself and remove this growth from the Temple Mount, we will not succeed in bringing full redemption to the country."

The EU also imposed personal sanctions on far-right activists Meir Ettinger, Elisha Yered, Neria Ben Pazi and Yinon Levy. Yered previously served as an assistant to Knesset member Limor Son Har-Melech of the Otzma Yehudit party.

This is the second time in recent months that the EU has imposed sanctions on settlers following their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The sanctions are intended to prevent them from visiting European countries, fundraising and other economic opportunities.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller described Gopstein's Lehava organization as one "whose members have engaged in destabilizing violence affecting the West Bank. Under Gopstein's leadership, Lehava and its members have been involved in acts or threats of violence against Palestinians, often targeting sensitive or volatile areas."

The U.S. Treasury Department is additionally designating the Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich NGOs for their roles in established fundraising campaigns for two settlers – Yinon Levi and David Chai Chasdai – who have already been sanctioned by the U.S.

"We are deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in the West Bank in recent days and call on Israel to take all appropriate measures to prevent attacks by violent extremist settlers and hold those responsible accountable. The United States will not hesitate to take additional steps to promote accountability if necessary," Miller said.

The Treasury Department noted that fundraising campaigns established by Mount Hebron Fund for Levi and by Shlom Asiraich for Chasdai generated the equivalent of $140,000 and $31,000 for Levi and Chasidai, respectively.

"Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich generated tens of thousands of dollars for extremists responsible for destroying property, assaulting civilians, and violence against Palestinians," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. "Such acts by these organizations undermine the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded to the sanctions, saying "The harassment of the Lehava organization and dearest settlers, who never engaged in terrorism or harmed anyone, are the result of a blood libel by Israel-hating, antisemitic elements who for years have openly supported Hamas, Fatah, and other anarchist organizations that harm IDF soldiers."

Ben-Gvir called on Western countries to stop their co-operations with "these antisemites" and to stop the "campaign of persecution against pioneer Zionist settlers."

This is the third round of sanctions on Israeli settlers since U.S. President Joe Biden's landmark executive order.

Biden's order and the subsequent first round of sanctions, issued in February, represented an unprecedented case of the U.S. government punitively targeting Israelis. It has the potential to irreversibly impact Israel's settlement enterprise and its access to U.S. financial institutions, its fundraising, relations between the two countries, and more.

The second round of sanctions included the first-ever sanctions on entire Israeli outposts in the West Bank.

The U.S. Treasury Department's office responsible for sanctions wrote a senior Bank of Israel official several weeks ago to clarify that Israeli banks would not be exposed to sanctions risk if they provide basic human needs, do not involve the U.S. financial system nor do not involve any other blocked persons other than those blocked under the same executive order.

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