President Trump has rescinded the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on numerous Israeli individuals and far-right settler groups accused of violence against Palestinians and the appropriation or destruction of Palestinian property.
This decision was made on Monday, shortly after Mr. Trump took office, despite reports from Palestinian officials and the Israeli military indicating that Jewish extremists had raided several Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, setting fire to vehicles and properties.
In response to escalating tensions in the West Bank, the Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had initiated what it termed a counterterrorism operation in Jenin, a Palestinian city in northern West Bank known for its militant activities.
The cancellation of the sanctions was part of a series of executive orders signed by Mr. Trump immediately following his inauguration. Palestinian officials condemned the action, suggesting it would likely incite further violence.
Hard-line members of Israel’s right-wing government and leaders within the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank had been advocating for the removal of the sanctions, which had been imposed by then-President Biden under an executive order signed nearly a year ago. Some leaders of the settler movement have maintained close relationships with Mr. Trump’s associates, including Mike Huckabee, his nominee for ambassador to Jerusalem.
The lifting of the sanctions occurred amid a second consecutive night of unrest in the West Bank, where extremist settlers protested against a cease-fire in Gaza that took effect on Sunday, bringing a period of calm after 15 months of conflict triggered by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault on Israel.
Members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government and their supporters oppose the cease-fire, which initially calls for a six-week truce and weekly exchanges of 33 hostages held in Gaza for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The specifics of the second phase of this agreement remain under negotiation, but it aims for the temporary cease-fire to become permanent and for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.