The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, accuses Trump of encouraging increased settler violence through this action.
"Lifting sanctions on extremist settlers encourages them to commit more crimes against our people," says the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in a statement, according to AFP.
Israel's ultra-religious Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich thanks Trump and calls the lifted sanctions "an unjustified violation of democratic principles".
"Your unwavering and unconditional support for the State of Israel testifies to your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land," he writes on X.
In the shadow of the war in Gaza, settler violence on the West Bank has increased. On Sunday, militant Israeli settlers responded to the news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by attacking two Palestinian communities on the West Bank. 21 people were injured.
According to an Israeli investigation, dozens of civilian settlers – some of them masked – were involved in the attacks, reports The Times of Israel on Tuesday.
