Israeli official: US no longer considering sanctions against Smotrich, Ben Gvir

WASHINGTON — The US is not considering sanctioning far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, of the Otzma Yehudit party, an Israeli official says, days after White House aides told The Times of Israel that the step was being weighed by the administration during a recent high-level meeting.

The idea of designating one or both of the ministers has been raised several times since US President Joe Biden signed an executive order in February which allowed the levying of sanctions to clamp down on those destabilizing the West Bank, US officials said earlier this week.

Biden had initially rejected the idea of sanctioning the two far-right ministers, arguing that the US should not be sanctioning elected officials, but the idea reportedly resurfaced as Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians continued, and as Israeli authorities continued taking steps to expand their footprint in the West Bank.