WASHINGTON

The US Treasury Department on Friday officially removed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers and groups, including the Amana Settlement Movement, accused of committing violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank amid a surge in settler attacks.

The decision follows a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump, reversing a Biden-era policy targeting individuals and entities deemed to undermine peace and stability in the region.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the termination of the sanctions, which had been imposed under an executive order signed by President Joe Biden.

Trump’s decision to rescind the sanctions was made Monday, as part of his repeal of more than 70 executive orders shortly after returning to the Oval Office.

Executive Order 14115, which was signed by Biden on Feb. 1, 2024, Imposing Certain Sanctions on Persons Undermining Peace, Security, and Stability in the West Bank, had targeted illegal Israeli settlers involved in "high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction."

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank following Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, where nearly 47,300 people have been killed, most of them women and children, and more than 111,500 injured since Oct. 7, 2023.

Palestinian political party leader, Mustafa Barghouti said on Friday that Israel is committing "ethnic cleansing" in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, and called for national unity to thwart the plan.

Israeli media reports suggest that the assault on Jenin is a political move by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appease far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who opposes the current ceasefire in Gaza.

At least 873 Palestinians have been killed and over 6,700 injured by Israeli forces in the occupied territory since last October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending the Israeli assault on the enclave.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

On Nov. 18, 2024, the Biden administration also imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers and entities, including the Amana Settlement Movement, which it accused of supporting illegal settler outposts that enable the expansion of Jewish settlements and the appropriation of Palestinian land. The administration described the group as "a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement."

The Biden administration also reiterated that Israel's Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank are "inconsistent" with international law, marking a departure from the Trump administration’s reversal of long-standing US policy during his first term.​​​​​​​