US ‘incredibly concerned’ about defense minister’s ending administrative detention for settlers

The US opposes Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to end administrative detention against Israeli extremists in the West Bank, arguing that it amounts to a rollback of one of the only tools that Jerusalem has used to crack down on settler violence.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says that the Biden administration is “incredibly concerned” about the increasing violence by settlers in the West Bank, including assaults on Palestinian civilians, forced displacement of Palestinian communities, and the willful destruction of homes and farms.

“We have called on the government of Israel repeatedly to take further actions to deter extremist settler violence and to hold those engaging accountable. As you have seen with the actions that we have taken over the past year, we are also committed to continuing to take our own actions,” he says referring to the sanctions that the US has levied against roughly two dozen individuals and entities. Miller acknowledges that those sanctions can be reversed by the next administration.