00:00 In quite an amusing turn of events, according to media reports, the US President Joe Biden
00:07 has signed an executive order to address the escalating violence between Jewish settlers
00:13 and Palestinians in the West Bank following Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October
00:17 7.
00:18 Reportedly, the US, via this action, has sanctioned four Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
00:23 The order establishes a new framework for imposing financial sanctions and visa restrictions
00:29 on individuals involving in the attacks or intimidating Palestinians or even seizing
00:34 their property.
00:35 Some recent United Nations data reveals a significant increase in settler attacks since
00:40 the Hamas' assault and Israel's subsequent offensive in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
00:45 The executive order empowers the US government to freeze assets and impose the visa restrictions
00:50 on those found responsible for violence against Palestinians.
00:54 The State Department is expected to announce the first four individuals targeted by the
00:59 order.
01:00 Now, this move comes after a recent Israeli covert operation took place in the city of
01:04 Jenin where three Hamas fighters were eliminated inside a hospital.
01:09 And so, in response to the growing threat to peace, security and stability in the West
01:13 Bank, Israel and the broader Middle East region, US has taken such a big action.
01:19 President Biden has emphasized the urgency of addressing the violence, conveying his
01:22 direct concerns to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
01:26 The administration contends that the violence by Israeli settlers undermines the prospect
01:30 of a peaceful resolution and the co-existence of an independent Palestinian state alongside
01:34 Israel.
01:36 After the Gaza war, the West Bank has witnessed a heightened violence fuelled by anti-Israel
01:40 sentiment and a prolonged impasse of US-sponsored peace efforts.
01:44 Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrik has dismissed the order and has labelled
01:50 it as part of an anti-Semitic lie.
01:52 He argued that the settler violence campaign aims to smear settlers and the entire state
01:57 of Israel.
01:58 For the unaware, in December last year, the US has already initiated visa bans on individuals
02:03 involved in the violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
02:06 Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel's occupation of the West Bank, along with the
02:12 construction of new Jewish settlements, has been a contentious issue.
02:16 While Israel considers the settlements legitimate, most countries view them as illegal.
02:21 -
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