US issues visa ban on Israelis and Palestinians accused of West Bank violence

The United States announced new visa restrictions that would target both Palestinians and Israelis who are believed to be involved in violence in the West Bank.

The immediate family members of those implicated in the attacks may also be subject to the visa restrictions, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

Any person "involved in or meaningfully contributing to the undermining of peace, security, or stability in the West Bank" will have their visa revoked or their application rejected, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a briefing Tuesday. 

Control of the West Bank, located in biblical Judea and Samaria, is split between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the latter of which has ramped up extensive counterterror operations in the former since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7. 

Meanwhile, clashes between Israelis and Palestinians living in the region have also risen since Oct. 7, with at least five Palestinians killed as a result of "settler-related incidents" since Oct. 7, according to United Nations data. Four Israeli civilians have been killed in the region since Oct. 7, but the United Nations did not provide details about their cause of death. 

"We unequivocally condemn attacks by violent Israeli extremists against Palestinians, and those by violent Palestinian extremists against Israelis. These acts threaten West Bank stability in the immediate term and take us further away from a future in which Palestinians and Israelis can both live in – both can live in peace and security, in two states," Miller also said. 

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 

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