US President Joe Biden addresses the nation on the Hamas onslaught against Israel. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Thursday to sanction individuals who have engaged in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, a first-of-its-kind order from an American president.

The executive order would not allow individuals into the United States who, based on the judgment of federal agencies, are responsible for, complicit in, or take part in violence against Palestinian civilians or property.

Biden, who is a long-time supporter of Israel, wrote that “the situation in the West Bank — in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction — has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel, and the broader Middle East region.” 

The move comes amid rising levels of violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank by Jewish extremists. Since Hamas’s October 7 attack in southern Israel, the UN Humanitarian Office reports there have been more than 500 settler attacks in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of eight Palestinians and the injury of more than 100 others.

Critics say Israel has not done enough to crack down on the far-right agitators, but the government disagrees.

It also comes at a time when Biden is looking to isolate the far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition and possibly even put a wedge between them and Netanyahu.

The reaction in the U.S. to the order was split largely along party lines. The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) said in a statement, “This executive order is about cold, calculated politics – plain and simple. Joe Biden and his team are watching his poll numbers crater. Today he traveled to the key battleground state of Michigan, home of the largest Arab-American population in the United States, desperate for some sort of political “win” with his fervently anti-Israel base in the Democratic Party. It’s a disgrace.”

The RJC continued, arguing “This first-of-its-kind executive order sends precisely the wrong message at absolutely the worst time, emboldening the terrorists and undermining the Jewish state. Joe Biden has needlessly damaged the US-Israel alliance yet again.”

Pro-Israel Democrat Senator Ben Cardin, on the other hand, agreed with Biden’s decision. “There has to be a clear message from the United States in regards to settler violence, but more importantly Israel. People’s lives are being lost so action needs to be taken,” he said in an interview, stressing that he wants “Israelis and Palestinians living together in peace. In the West Bank, we have certain responsibilities about the settlers that are there. There have to be boundaries.”