Biden issues executive order targeting Israelis who have engaged in West Bank violence

President Joe Biden issued an executive order that sets the ground for imposing sanctions on Israelis accused of engaging in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. 

The executive order comes as the Biden administration is under growing pressure from left-wing Democrats to take a tougher stance on Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people. 

Biden is set Thursday to visit the battleground state of Michigan after Muslim leaders launched a campaign there against him over his handling of the Israel-Gaza War.

"This E.O. will allow the United States to issue financial sanctions against those directing or participating in certain actions, including acts or threats of violence against civilians, intimidating civilians to cause them to leave their homes, destroying or seizing property, or engaging in terrorist activity in the West Bank," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said when the order was announced.

The executive order comes after the State Department announced visa restrictions in December that would target both Palestinians and Israelis accused of being involved in violence in the West Bank, which is the area also known as Biblical Judea and Samaria. 

Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, two Palestinians have died and 109 have been injured as a result of "settler-related incidents" perpetrated by an "Israeli civilian settler," per the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Meanwhile, the same dataset shows that Palestinian civilians have killed at least five Israeli civilians and injured 24 others during the same time frame. 

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.