Israeli officials welcomed Trump’s decision to lift sanctions imposed by the Biden administration.

US President Donald Trump issued an executive order lifting sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Trump issued the order as he returned to the White House on Monday, one of a series of controversial moves. The sanctions were imposed by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, through an executive order in February.

Biden’s action paves the way for the U.S. State Department and Treasury Department to sanction several far-right individuals and groups accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 in defiance of international law.

With the world’s attention focused on the war in Gaza, Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and looting of the occupied territory has alarmed some of Israel’s Western allies.

Monday and Tuesday, settlers Set fire to vehicles and property Protected by Israeli soldiers. At least 21 Palestinians were reportedly injured.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, attacks by Israeli forces and West Bank settlers have killed at least 860 Palestinians, including 175 children, and injured more than 6,700 people.

“America is our friend again”

Israeli officials welcomed Trump’s “historic decision” to lift sanctions.

Yossi Dagan, chairman of the settlement committee in the northern West Bank, said lifting the “shameful sanctions” was “a political message that the United States has become our friend again,” Israeli media reported.

Far-right former national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Lovers and enemies.”

His ally, Treasury Secretary Bezarel Smotrich, said Trump’s stance demonstrated his “deep connection to the Jewish people and our historic rights to our land.”

“These sanctions are a serious act of blatant foreign interference in Israel’s internal affairs and undermine democratic principles and mutual relations between two friendly countries,” he said.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the settlers after the Biden administration repeatedly urged the Israeli government to take action to hold settlers accountable, actions that Washington said undermined hopes for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and the Palestinians hope to make it the core of an independent state. Israel has established settlements there, which are illegal under international law.

Israel disputes this, citing historical and biblical ties to the land.