Blinken Mum on Possible Sanctions on Israeli Officials

Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to explicitly say this week whether the U.S. would consider sanctioning Israeli government officials who may be contributing to Israeli violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, saying only that the U.S. wants Israel to “prevent this kind of violence.”

Blinken, speaking to reporters during a trip to Israel, said he discussed the West Bank violence in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 19. Asked whether he was "prepared" to sanction Israeli officials, Blinken said the violence has been “something that’s been a deep and ongoing concern for us,” adding that “we look to see action taken -- action taken to prevent this kind of violence, action taken to hold people responsible for it accountable, and we’re looking to the government to take the necessary steps to stop the violence and to make sure that there is real deterrence in place so that it doesn’t happen again.”

Josep Borrell, the EU's top trade official, said Aug. 16 he plans to propose new sanctions against “enablers” of the violence, “including some Israeli government’s members.” The U.S. has issued several rounds of sanctions against Israeli citizens for recent violence against Palestinians (see 2402010053, 2407150013 and 2407110018).