The White House National Security Council held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible measures against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
That included considering sanctions against ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, whom the Biden administration holds responsible for undermining security in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post reports.
The report indicates that the Biden administration is frustrated with the Israeli government’s policies of expanding settlements in the West Bank and weakening the Palestinian Authority, noting that some ministers are openly associated with extremist settler groups.
The meeting was called at the White House after the Israeli government’s decision to build an additional 5,000 housing units in the settlements and to legitimize five outposts.
Another key issue discussed was the imposition of sanctions against Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, who the Biden administration believes are leading Israeli government policy in the West Bank.
Earlier, Biden refused to sanction Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, arguing that the United States (U.S.) should not impose sanctions on elected officials in democratic countries.
Since then, sanctions have been imposed on some supporters and associates of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, but not on the ministers themselves. Now, many officials in the U.S.administration believe that the issue should be revisited.
Towards the end of the meeting, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, proposed a change in U.S. policy by engaging in dialogue with Smotrich in an attempt to change his behavior.
US officials said the purpose of the meeting was to explore various options and that no decisions were made. They emphasized that any decision on these issues should be made by President Biden himself.
