---
title: "Israeli minister says he welcomes Trump's reversal of US sanctions on settlers"
description: "JERUSALEM, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed US President Donald Trump's reversal of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Middle East conflict"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-01-21-israeli-minister-says-he-welcomes-trumps-reversal-of-us-sanctions-on-settlers/"
published: "2025-01-21T12:32:04"
updated: "2025-01-21T12:32:06"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 229
---

# Israeli minister says he welcomes Trump's reversal of US sanctions on settlers

> JERUSALEM, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomed US President Donald Trump's reversal of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration on Israeli settler groups and individuals accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

By Reuters · Published 21 January 2025, 14:32 SAST · Updated 21 January 2025, 14:32 SAST

## Key points
- In a classic case of diplomatic déjà vu, Trump has flipped the script on Biden's sanctions against Israeli settlers, much to the delight of pro-settler Smotrich, who’s now dreaming of a land where historical rights and national security dance hand in hand, while the two-state solution takes a backseat.
- Pro-settler Israeli minister Smotrich praises Trump's reversal of Biden-era sanctions on Israeli settlers as a reaffirmation of Jewish historical rights.
- Trump's decision nullifies previous sanctions that targeted Israeli settler individuals and entities, freezing their US assets.
- Smotrich condemns the sanctions as foreign interference, asserting they undermine Israel's democratic principles and bilateral relations with the US.
- The move comes amid ongoing tensions over Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Palestinians view as obstacles to a two-state solution.

## Content

The pro-settler Smotrich, in a message to Trump on Tuesday, called the move an "expression of your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land".

Trump's [decision](https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AS0N3OF018&linkedFromStory=true) is a reversal of a major policy action by former President Joe Biden's administration that had imposed sanctions on numerous Israeli settler individuals and entities, freezing their US assets and generally barring Americans from dealing with them.

"These sanctions were a severe act of foreign interference in the internal affairs of the State of Israel, undermining democratic principles and the mutual relationship between the two friendly nations," Smotrich said.

Smotrich added that Israel looked forward to "continued fruitful cooperation to strengthen its national security, expand settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel, and strengthen Israel's position in the world".

US sanctions on settlers were imposed after the Biden administration repeatedly urged the Israeli government to take action to hold extremists to account for actions that Washington believes set back hopes for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

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 Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal. Israel disputes this and cites historical and Biblical ties to the land.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Alex Richardson)