US imposes sanctions on Israeli settler group for allegedly fostering West Bank violence

The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on a group of Israeli settlers for allegedly fostering violence in the occupied West Bank, in Palestinians settlers are reportedly being increasingly attack.

The sanctions are being executed by the Treasury Department against the Amana settler group, which the agency calls a "key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement."

The agency also also said the group maintains ties to people previously sanctioned by the U.S. government and its partners for "perpetrating violence in the West Bank."

The sanctions also target a subsidiary of Amana called Binyanei Bar Amana, a company that builds and sell homes in Israeli settlements and settler outposts, according the Reuters. 

The sanctions block Americans from any transactions with Amana – whose formal name is Amana the Settlement Movement of Gush Emunim Central Cooperative Association Ltd. – and freeze its U.S.-held assets, the wire service also reports. 

Such West Bank violence reportedly began increasing before the Palestinian-backed group Hamas launched a deadly terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in Israel declaring war on Hamas in Gaza. 

The United Kingdom and Canada have also imposed sanctions on Amana, Reuters also reports. 

Israel has settled the West Bank since capturing it during the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians say the settlements have undermined the prospects for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, also according to the wire service. 

Most countries deem the settlements illegal under international law, a position disputed by Israel which sees the territory as a security bulwark. In 2019, the then-Trump administration abandoned the long-held U.S. position that the settlements are illegal before it was restored by President Joe Biden.