Biden’s Sanctions on Israeli Settlers Are Just for Show
Joe Biden has announced sanctions on Israeli settlers in Palestinian territory. But the sanctions themselves are toothless — a way to signal displeasure with the Israeli government without actually doing anything to change the situation.
President Joe Biden walking on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2024. (Aaron Schwartz / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Fathi Nimer noticed the new checkpoints on the way to his farm almost immediately after October 7.
The trip from Ramallah in the central West Bank in Palestine used to take Nimer just half an hour. Now he takes a circuitous route that’s more than twice as long to avoid Israeli checkpoints as he says illegal settlers are stepping up their slow colonization of Palestine.
“There are new checkpoints popping up all over the place that we never heard of before,” Nimer said in a video interview from Ramallah. “It’s absolutely unpredictable and the soldiers are incredibly trigger-happy. Every time you pass the checkpoint, it’s a big risk.”
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