US targets Israeli settler group with sanctions, Treasury Dept website shows

The sanctions also target a subsidiary of Amana called Binyanei Bar Amana.

Settlement of Elon Moreh, near Nablus, West Bank, June 11, 2020 (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Settlement of Elon Moreh, near Nablus, West Bank, June 11, 2020
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

The United States imposed sanctions on Israel's Amana organization on Monday, the Treasury Department's website showed, targeting a group that operates in the West Bank.

Amana provides support to West Bank outposts that are used to expand Israeli communities, the Treasury Department said in a statement announcing the sanctions, calling the group "a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement."

The sanctions also target a subsidiary of Amana called Binyanei Bar Amana, described by the Treasury as a company that builds and sells homes in Israeli communities and outposts.

The sanctions block Americans from any transactions with Amana and freeze its US-held assets. The United Kingdom and Canada have also imposed sanctions on Amana.

The Treasury Department said Amana maintained ties to other people targeted in previous rounds of US sanctions, including by providing loans to those who set up farms in the West Bank from which violence is committed.

  A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023.  (credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE/FILE PHOTO)
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, US, January 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE/FILE PHOTO)

Measures may be reversed 

"More broadly, Amana strategically uses farming outposts, which it supports through financing, loans, and building infrastructure, to expand settlements and seize land," it said.

The latest measures taken against Israeli individuals by the Biden administration could be quickly reversed under President-elect Donald Trump.