Pjoe biden resident presidential order Authorizing economic and travel sanctions against Israelis involved in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank is a rare positive step to address Israel’s persecution of Palestinians.Biden administration’s rhetoric It reveals growing dissatisfaction with the increasingly hardline stance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government.In addition to sanctions Similar travel bans Issued in December, it was imposed just as President Biden was about to do so. visit Michigan, an election battleground state with a large Arab-American population, is adding some crunch to the administration’s words.
But while the violence in the West Bank is devastating for the direct victims, it is a sideshow compared to the extraordinary violence unleashed against the people of Gaza. And in the West Bank, sanctions have also been narrowly focused. These can also be understood as over-the-bow strikes, a warning that the Biden administration is ready to act, but their humble nature and avoidance of the Gaza catastrophe leaves room for more decisive action. There are quite a few left.
settler violence in the West Bank; long-standing problem, which has skyrocketed since the October 7 Hamas attack.Counted by the United Nations Humanitarian Office 494 The attack will continue until January 31st. 1000 Palestinians People from at least 15 communities have been forced to evacuate their homes.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office responds to sanctions claimed Israel “does not need to take exceptional measures on this issue, as it acts against lawbreakers everywhere.” In fact, attacks are frequent because Israeli authorities rarely prosecute perpetrators.
According to Israeli human rights organizations, between 2005 and 2023 Yesh Din, Israeli authorities have concluded 93.7% of investigations into Israelis accused of harming Palestinians in the West Bank without charges, and only 3% resulted in convictions.As an Israeli rights organization B’Tselem The documents show that Israeli soldiers often passively watch settlers attack Palestinian civilians, sometimes appearing to incite violence.
The settlement itself is illegal and a war crime in violation of the following provisions: Article 49 The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits an occupying power from moving its nationals into occupied territory. Some settlers use violence to force Palestinians off their land, expanding into government-recognized settlements or creating new unrecognized outposts.
Mr. Biden is right to recognize the seriousness of the problem. Between settlements, outposts and bypass roads, Palestinian land in the West Bank has already been carved out. 165 According to B’Tselem, a separate enclave would undermine the prospects for a viable contiguous Palestinian state.Settler violence threatens to worsen the situation and undermine the “viability of a two-state solution” proposed by Biden executive order. put it down.
Biden’s willingness to impose sanctions is significant because of its rarity.You have to pull out the history books to come up with something that barely compares – perhaps Barack Obama’s 2016 UN Security Council abstentionauthorizing the adoption of a resolution on the illegality of the settlement, or the George H.W. Bush resolution. simple Tax withholding It provided a $10 billion loan guarantee to Israel in 1991 to ensure a (temporary) halt to Israeli settlement construction.
But Biden’s new sanctions are also limited. The Biden administration imposed these measures on four settlers, but Biden did not sanction any Israeli officials, despite a de facto green light that the settlers are exploiting.according to Axios, the government considered including two of Netanyahu’s most outspoken far-right ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, but decided against it. In the classic example, Make cheaper Smotrich, an important fight against anti-Semitism by using anti-Semitism to deflect challenges to abuses by the Israeli government answered “The ‘settler violence’ campaign is an anti-Semitic lie,” he said in response to Biden’s order.
Biden did not mention Israeli military commanders who turn a blind eye to settler violence as long as it does not encourage it. He did not mention the illegality of the settlement.he continues to refuse to recognize it apartheid As every human rights organization serious about this issue has made clear, the Israeli government imposes this obligation on millions of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
And while the situation in the West Bank is dire, it pales in comparison to the Israeli military’s bombing and siege of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Biden has been outspoken in urging Netanyahu to reduce the harm to civilians in the Gaza Strip and allow greater access to humanitarian aid, but so far. evidence It suggests that Prime Minister Netanyahu is ignoring these pleas as mere words. As with settler violence, they must be reinforced by action.
Biden could have imposed sanctions on generals dropping highly destructive weapons. 2,000 pounds bomb attacks on Palestinian settlements, or bomb attacks on Palestinian settlements that increase bureaucracy; Obstacle Toward providing humanitarian aid in the face of civilian challenges famine – Both are war crimes. It could have placed conditions on or suspended the US government’s $3.8 billion in annual military aid and weapons deliveries to Israel until the killing and starvation of civilians stopped.
He could have vowed not to exercise his veto power. discussed Security Council resolution calling on Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice interim measures To avoid participating in a plausible genocide.He is a member of the US government To welcome The International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over Russian war crimes in Ukraine (which Ukraine has granted jurisdiction over, even though Russia is not a member of the court) extends to Israeli war crimes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The same applies (courts to which Palestine has vested jurisdiction, even though Israel does not participate).
In short, we should welcome Biden’s actions against West Bank settler violence. Something is better than nothing. But we should not praise it any more than we already do, and we should not take our eyes off Gaza, which is the main threat to Palestinian civilian life today.
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Kenneth Roth is the former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022) and visiting professor at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.
