The United States issued financial sanctions on Thursday against four Israelis accused of escalating violence against civilians, intimidating civilians or destroying property in the West Bank.
“The United States has consistently opposed actions that undermine stability in the West Bank and the prospects of peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Here’s what we know about the four, all men ranging in age from 21 to 32.
David Chai Chasdai, 29
Mr. Chasdai initiated and led a riot on the Palestinian town of Huwara, the State Department said in a statement, which resulted in the death of a Palestinian civilian. The New York Times reported on a rampage in Huwara and neighboring villages on Feb. 26, 2023, that started after two settlers were shot and killed. Israeli settlers burned and vandalized homes, businesses and vehicles, and one Palestinian was killed.
Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, initially signed an administrative detention warrant — a policy of indefinite imprisonment without trial that Israel almost exclusively uses against Palestinians — for Mr. Chasdai in March 2023, according to Israeli news media. A few days later, an Israeli court later shortened his detention by a month.
In 2013, Mr. Chasdai was detained for assaulting a taxi driver, according to an Israeli legal database. He was represented at the Jerusalem District Court by Itamar Ben Gvir, a lawyer and politician, who is now serving as Israel’s minister of national security. The court decided not to extend Mr. Hasdai’s detention, as requested by a police department in charge of investigating nationalistically motivated crimes, because of a lack of evidence.
Yinon Levi, 31
Mr. Levi led a group of settlers who “engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear in the West Bank,” according to the State Department statement, and has joined other settlers in repeatedly attacking Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
