US sanctions Israeli group and individual for alleged West Bank violence against Palestinians

The US on Wednesday announced sanctions against an Israeli organization, Hashomer Yosh, allegedly responsible for supporting settler violence in the West Bank against Palestinians, according to a State Department spokesperson.

The US on Wednesday announced sanctions against an Israeli organization, Hashomer Yosh, allegedly responsible for supporting settler violence in the West Bank against Palestinians, according to a State Department spokesperson. “After all 250 Palestinian residents of [West Bank village] Khirbet Zanuta were forced to leave in late January, Hashomer Yosh volunteers fenced off the village to prevent the residents from returning,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement. The US alleges the group also guarded the outposts of Israeli individuals previously sanctioned by the US. The US also sanctioned an Israeli individual, Yitzhak Levi Filant, who allegedly “led a group of armed settlers to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them from their lands” in February. “The United States will continue to take action to promote accountability for those who commit and support extremist violence affecting the West Bank,” Miller said. In the announcement, Miller again called on Israel’s government to “hold accountable” those responsible for settler violence against civilians in the West Bank.