Current:Home > NewsIn a rare action against Israel, US says extremist West Bank settlers will be barred from America-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
In a rare action against Israel, US says extremist West Bank settlers will be barred from America
View Date:2024-12-24 07:23:52
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare punitive move against Israel, the State Department said Tuesday it will impose travel bans on extremist Jewish settlers implicated in a rash of recent attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the step after warning Israel last week that President Joe Biden’s administration would be taking action over the attacks. Blinken did not announce individual visa bans, but department spokesman Matthew Miller said the bans would be implemented starting Tuesday and would cover “dozens” of settlers and their families, with more to come. He wouldn’t give a number and refused to identify any of those targeted due to confidentiality reasons.
The decision comes at a sensitive moment in U.S.-Israeli relations. The Biden administration has firmly backed Israel since it was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, even as international criticism of Israel has mounted.
But in recent weeks, the administration has stepped up calls on Israel to do more to limit civilian casualties as the Israelis expand their offensive and target densely populated southern Gaza. The U.S. has refrained from outright criticism of that offensive. It has been increasingly outspoken, however, about settler violence in the West Bank and Israel’s failure to respond to U.S. calls to stop it.
“We have underscored to the Israeli government the need to do more to hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank,” Blinken said in a statement. “As President Biden has repeatedly said, those attacks are unacceptable.”
“Today, the State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities,” Blinken said.
He said the U.S. would continue to seek accountability for settler violence against Palestinians as well as Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the West Bank and Israel, particularly as tensions are extremely high due to the conflict in Gaza.
“Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have the responsibility to uphold stability in the West Bank,” Blinken said. “Instability in the West Bank both harms the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel’s national security interests.”
Tuesday’s move comes just a month after Israel was granted entry into the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows its citizens visa-free entry into the U.S. Those targeted by the action will not be eligible for the program, and those who hold current U.S. visas will have them revoked.
veryGood! (122)
Related
- California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert
- 'The Dos and Donuts of Love' is a delectably delightful, reality TV tale
- Françoise Gilot, the famed artist who loved and then left Picasso, is dead at 101
- The MixtapE! Presents The Weeknd, Halsey, Logic and More New Music Musts
- Lost luggage? This new Apple feature will let you tell the airline exactly where it is.
- HBO's 'The Idol' offers stylish yet oddly inert debut episode
- Ellie Goulding Says Rumor She Cheated on Ed Sheeran With Niall Horan Caused Her a Lot of Trauma
- Debut novel 'The God of Good Looks' adds to growing canon of Caribbean literature
- U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
- If you don't love the 3D movie experience, you're not alone
Ranking
- Parts of Southern California under quarantine over oriental fruit fly infestation
- 'The Wind Knows My Name' is a reference and a refrain in the search for home
- Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and More Celeb Couples Turning 2023 SAG Awards Into a Glamorous Date Night
- Toblerone to ditch Matterhorn logo over Swissness law
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- SAG Awards 2023 Red Carpet Fashion: See Every Look as the Stars Arrive
- How Hoda Kotb Stopped Feeling Unworthy of Motherhood
- 5 new mysteries and thrillers for the start of summer
Recommendation
-
Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
-
Relationships are the true heart of 1940s dystopian novel 'Kallocain'
-
John Goodman tells us the dark secret behind all his lovable characters
-
5 new mysteries and thrillers for the start of summer
-
NFL Week 10 winners, losers: Cowboys' season can no longer be saved
-
Go Behind the Scenes of the Star-Studded 2023 SAG Awards With Photos of Zendaya, Jenna Ortega and More
-
Transcript: Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Face the Nation, March 5, 2023
-
Meet Jason Arday, Cambridge University's youngest ever Black professor, who didn't speak until he was 11.