In a significant move against Israel, the State Department has announced that it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers who have been involved in a recent wave of attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The decision was made following a warning to Israel by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, stating that the Biden administration would take action in response to the attacks. While individual visa bans were not announced, the bans are set to be implemented starting Tuesday and will cover “dozens” of settlers and their families. If settler violence continues, more bans may follow.

The timing of this decision is particularly sensitive, as the Biden administration has been firmly supporting Israel since the country was attacked by Hamas on October 7. However, international criticism of Israel has been mounting, particularly with regards to civilian casualties caused by their offensive in densely populated areas in southern Gaza. While the US has refrained from outright criticizing this offensive, they have been increasingly vocal about settler violence in the West Bank and Israel's failure to address it.

The State Department's decision comes as a response to the alarming increase in settler attacks on Palestinians. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least eight Palestinians have been killed by settlers in the West Bank since October 7. The agency has recorded a total of 314 attacks by settlers, resulting in Palestinian casualties and damage to Palestinian-owned property. Disturbingly, one-third of these attacks involved threats with firearms, while nearly half of them were supported by Israeli forces.

Secretary Blinken emphasized the need for accountability for settler violence against Palestinians, as well as Palestinian attacks against Israelis. He stated that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have a responsibility to maintain stability in the West Bank, highlighting that instability harms both peoples and threatens Israel's national security interests. This move by the US is seen as an effort to push for greater accountability and discourage further violence.

Notably, this decision comes just a month after Israel was granted entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, allowing its citizens visa-free entry into the United States. However, those individuals targeted by the travel bans will not be eligible for the program, and those who currently hold US visas will have them revoked.

President Biden and other senior US officials have repeatedly emphasized that Israel must take action to stop the violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. The US has made it clear that it is prepared to utilize its own authorities to address the issue. Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians view as the core of their future independent state. Israel has constructed Jewish settlements in the area, which are considered illegal by most countries. However, Israel disputes this and claims historical and biblical ties to the land.

The increase in settler attacks on Palestinians has been alarming, with daily attacks more than doubling according to UN figures. This escalation can be traced back to the actions of Hamas, which controls the separate Palestinian enclave of Gaza, and their killing of 1,200 Israelis and taking around 240 hostages. In response, Israel has carried out bombings and invasions in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over 15,000 people.

The US has expressed its desire for Israel to prosecute individuals responsible for the violence in the West Bank, but they have yet to see any concrete steps in that direction. Secretary Blinken has stressed that the US will continue to engage with Israeli leadership to make it clear that additional measures must be taken to protect Palestinian civilians from extremist attacks. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority is also expected to do more to curb attacks against Israelis.