Ramallah: The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to cancel sanctions imposed on illegal Israeli settlers accused of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order rolling back the sanctions imposed by his predecessor Joe Biden last year.
According to Anadolu Agency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, stated that the decision encourages settlers to commit more crimes. He called on the new US administration to intervene to stop these crimes and Israeli policies that will not bring peace and security to anyone. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry also denounced the US move, stating that lifting sanctions on extremist settlers encourages them to commit more crimes against the Palestinian people. It added that efforts continue to stop settler terrorism and remove barriers.
Trump's decision reverses a major policy action by Biden, who had applied sanctions on several Israeli settler groups and individuals, freezing their US assets and barring Americans from dealing with them. On Monday, illegal Israeli settlers launched attacks on the Palestinian villages of Al-Funduq and Jinsafut in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to homes, shops, and vehicles, according to local officials.
Tension has been high across the West Bank due to Israel's ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, where at least 47,000 victims have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 110,700 injured since October 7, 2023. Around 860 Palestinians have been killed and over 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect Sunday in Gaza, suspending the Israeli war on the Palestinian enclave. In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.