Biden administration sanctions key settlement organization Amana

The Biden administration has sanctioned Amana, the settlement movement’s main development organization.

While the impact of the move was likely blunted by this month’s election of Donald Trump, who may well reverse such sanctions, it still sends a signal to other Western countries that have followed the US in imposing similar sanctions against Israeli extremists in the West Bank for the past year.

Amana has maintained ties with individuals and outposts that have already been sanctioned by the US for perpetrating violence in the West Bank, the Treasury Department says in its announcement.

The Biden administration considered targeting Amana for months, given that barring American companies from any financial interaction with the organization could severely hamper the settler development arm’s ability to operate. In recent months, settler leaders had been lobbying the Israeli government to try and thwart the move.

An Amana subsidiary, Binyanei Bar Amana, along with a smaller outpost construction firm, Eyal Harei Yehuda, were also designated by the Treasury Department, together with three individuals.

In total, 17 individuals and 16 entities have been sanctioned through an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden last February, which allowed the US to target those destabilizing the West Bank amid mounting frustration over Israel’s failure to crack down on settler violence.