US imposes sanctions on Palestinian group Lions' Den
![US imposes sanctions on Palestinian group Lions' Den US imposes sanctions on Palestinian group Lions' Den](https://citizentv.obs.af-south-1.myhuaweicloud.com/114648/conversions/Screenshot-2023-12-13-192654-og_image.webp)
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks, following a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, during a press conference in Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S., November 26, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo
The
United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Palestinian militant group Lions' Den,
the State Department said, in the latest move aimed at those Washington says
threaten peace and stability in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The group
is the first Palestinian target of sanctions under an executive order on West
Bank violence issued by President
Joe Biden in February, which had previously been used to impose financial
restrictions on Jewish settlers involved in attacks on
Palestinians.
In a
statement announcing the action, department spokesperson Matthew Miller cited
attacks by Lions' Den on Israelis as well as Palestinians in the West Bank
since 2022.
"The
United States condemns any and all acts of violence committed in the West Bank,
whoever the perpetrators, and we will use the tools at our disposal to expose
and hold accountable those who threaten peace and stability there," Miller
said.
The move
freezes any assets the group holds under U.S. jurisdiction and bars Americans
from dealing with the group, although it was unclear if Lions' Den held any
such assets or connections.
Other
Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, have
been designated under more stringent U.S. counterterrorism authorities, but
Thursday's move falls short of taking that step for Lion's Den.
The group
emerged in recent years in the Old City of Nablus in the West Bank and has
engaged in firefights with Israeli forces and attacks on Jewish settlements.
Since the
1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River,
which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. It has built
settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this and
cites historical and Biblical ties to the land.
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