A series of executive orders signed by U.S. President Donald Trump after taking office on Monday include lifting sanctions imposed by former President Joe Biden’s administration on more than 30 Israeli settler groups and entities.

Settler violence has long been a fact of life for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. But attack and Stealing Palestinian Land That number has soared since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Trump’s move was celebrated by the far right in Israel, although it came shortly after the new president pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, leaving that faction furious. So, what can we learn from lifting sanctions? What will Trump’s policy toward Israel and Palestine be?

What sanctions have been imposed on settlers?

Under the terms of the sanctions, individuals and entities are prohibited from accessing all U.S. property, assets, and the U.S. financial system.

Who are the sanctions targeted at?

Since the Israeli occupation in 1967, Israel has built illegal settlements across the West Bank. The settlements, built on occupied Palestinian land, are part of efforts by the Seth movement and the Israeli government to tighten control of the West Bank. Palestinians stress that settlements – places where they are not allowed to live – effectively make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible.

Many individuals and entities have been hit by sanctions. These include the Settlement Development Organization Amana and its subsidiaries Binyanei Bar Amana Ltdboth groups identified by U.S. officials as umbrella groups for violent and extremist settler activity.

Individuals convicted in Israel for violence against Palestinians more than a decade ago, such as David Chai Chasdai, are also included, as are many others identified by U.S. officials as being established on Palestinian land Illegal settler outposts or settlements, such as Svis Farm, established by settler Zvi Bar Yosef, Anti-Occupation Researcher Description Dror Etkes, for being responsible for “the most brutal settler attack I have ever heard of.”

Yet despite uncompromising rhetoric, the Biden administration still plans to sanction the ultra-Orthodox nezakh yehuda camp A series of alleged violations against Palestinian civilians, including arbitrary killings and torture, were put on hold after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly objected.

Why the United States imposes sanctions on citizens of its allies

The sanctions come as the Biden administration faces pressure to use its powers to halt Israel’s war on Gaza, including by suspending arms sales.

The government was unwilling to do so and instead took several smaller measures in an attempt to influence Israel’s actions and express its displeasure, such as sanctions against specific settler groups and individuals.

November, Former State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have “stressed repeatedly to their Israeli counterparts that Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold perpetrators accountable “.

The Israeli government has been dominated by pro-settlement far-right figures, including Finance Minister Bezarel Smotrich Itamar Ben-Gvir served as national security minister until last weekend, when he resigned in protest of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In November, Ben-Gweil responded to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu by suggesting that Israel annex the West Bank. Earlier in the same month, In anticipation of Trump being elected president, Smotrich went a step further, ordering preparations for annexation of occupied territory this year.

Do sanctions limit violence?

No.

By 2024, the period during which the United States imposes sanctions, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Records It was the highest number of attacks in nearly two decades since OCHA began recording such incidents, noting that “some 4,250 Palestinians have been displaced, 1,760 buildings destroyed and some 1,400 involving Israelis in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem Settlers’ Affair”.

Al Jazeera and rights groups, including Amnesty International, Tracked Multiple incidents of settler violence Israel has carried out attacks on Palestinian homes during its war on Gaza and has always found settler attacks either ignored or even encouraged by security forces commanded by Ben Gvir.

How will Israel react to the lifting of sanctions?

Both Smotrich and Bengwell celebrated Trump’s lifting of sanctions.

Ben-Gewell posted on social media that he welcomed “incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s historic decision to lift the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on settlers in Judea and Samaria,” which he said The term referring to the occupied West Bank is used by the Israeli government.

Treasury Secretary Smotrich was equally clear, describing the sanctions as “serious and blatant foreign interference in Israel’s internal affairs.”

I sincerely thank President Donald Trump for his just decision to lift sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on settlers and activists from right-wing groups. These sanctions represent severe and blatant foreign interference in Israel’s internal affairs and… pic.twitter.com/Lp1I8oFixa

— Bezalels Smotrich (@bezalelsm) January 21, 2025

Does this foreshadow what Trump’s policy toward Israel and the Palestinians will be?

While many in the pro-Palestinian camp applaud Trump for pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, he overwhelmingly supported Israel during his first term and is likely to do so over the next four years.

Trump has been willing to allow the Israeli right to achieve several victories in the past, even if it goes against long-term U.S. policy. For example, during his first term he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and recognized Israel’s illegal annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights. He also launched an initiative to recognize Israeli sovereignty over illegal settlements in the West Bank.

His current circle members include Mike HuckabeeTrump’s choice of an evangelical and pro-settlement U.S. ambassador to Israel, as well as “megadonor” billionaire Miriam Adelson, who reportedly supports Israel’s annexation of the West Bank, have signaled Israel’s commitment to the territory HA Hellyer, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said the ambitions may be approaching.

The Trump administration also nominated Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Stefanik spoke of Israel’s “biblical rights” to the West Bank and described the number of UN votes against Israel as evidence of the organization’s “rotten anti-Semitism”.

Hellyer said: “Many of Trump’s picks, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or his new national security adviser Mike Waltz, have stated that we are seeing concerns about Israeli behavior The existing restrictions are very limited and have been completely abandoned.”