The State Department announced that Israeli residents in the West Bank will face visa restrictions if they are “extremists.”
The “Visa Restriction Policy to Promote Peace, Security, and Stability in the West Bank” will “hold accountable extremist settlers who have committed violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.”
On December 5, the State Department released a statement saying it is “implementing a new visa restriction policy targeting individuals believed to have been involved in undermining peace, security, or stability in the West Bank, including through committing acts of violence or taking other actions that unduly restrict civilians’ access to essential services and basic necessities. Immediate family members of such persons also may be subject to these restrictions.”
“We will continue to seek accountability for all acts of violence against civilians in the West Bank, regardless of the perpetrator or the victim. We also continue to engage with the Israeli leadership to make clear that Israel must take additional measures to protect Palestinian civilians from extremist attacks,” the statement continued.
“We will also continue to engage the Palestinian Authority to make clear it must do more to curb Palestinian attacks against Israelis. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have the responsibility to uphold stability in the West Bank. Instability in the West Bank both harms the Israeli and Palestinian people and threatens Israel’s national security interests. Those responsible for it must be held accountable.”
The move comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli leaders that it lacks “credit” to defeat Hamas.
The Times of Israel quoted Blinken as saying Israel cannot “operate in southern Gaza in the way you did in the north. There are two million Palestinians there. You need to evacuate fewer people from their homes, be more accurate in the attacks, not hit UN facilities, and ensure that there are enough protected areas [for civilians]. And if not? Then not to attack where there is a civilian population. What is your system of operation?”
Israel Defense Forces Chief Herzi Halevi responded, “We follow a number of principles — proportionality, distinction, and the laws of war. There were instances where we attacked on the basis of those principles, and instances where we decided not to attack, because we waited for a better opportunity.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant added, “The entire Israeli society is united behind the goal of dismantling Hamas, even if it takes months.”
Blinken stated that he did not think Israel has the “credit for that.”
