Trump lifts sanctions on settlers:
Photo: Majdi Mohammed/AP/TT

Trump lifts sanctions on settlers: Fear of violence

The USA's new president Donald Trump is revoking the Biden administration's sanctions against right-wing extremist settlers on the Israeli-occupied West Bank, report Israeli media. The news is causing concern.

Advertisement

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.

In this story
AuthorTT News AgencyEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for our readers
Was this useful?

What do you think?

Keep readingmore from Politics

All