Senior Democrats call for sanctioning settlement development group Amana

Three senior Democratic senators are urging the Biden administration to sanction Amana, the development arm of the settler movement.

Amana is behind the establishment of settlements along with illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are often built on private Palestinian land.

Senior US officials have told The Times of Israel that Amana has already been considered a candidate for previous rounds of sanctions announced following an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden in February that targets extremist individuals and entities destabilizing the West Bank through violent attacks and land grabs.

Sanctioning Amana would likely have major implications on the settler movement whose leaders have been scrambling to try and prevent such a move, the US officials said.

In a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Ben Cardin, Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence chair Mark Warner argue that the step against Amana should be taken.

“We urge you to “follow the money” and consider sanctions against other perpetrators and their supporters like the Amana organization,” the senators write.

“Amana has a long and well-documented history of supporting extremist settlers who expropriate Palestinian land and threaten Palestinian landholders, farmers, and shepherds. Amana has played a central role in forming and sustaining hill-top outposts illegal under Israeli law, often by granting loans to bankroll their start.