Thread by @EmirNader

🚨 The US has imposed sanctions on the Israeli settler organisation 'Amana'. It's the most significant action against settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war - a move that will send shockwaves throughout the settler movement 🧵

Since the start of the war in Gaza, extremist settlers have used violence to seize huge areas of land in the West Bank and drive Palestinians out - the UN says 1,600+ Palestinians have been forced from their homes.

A series of sanctions by Western nations over the past year has targeted the settler community as an attempt to reduce settler violence, but sanctions have mostly focussed on extremist individuals - not the powerful organisations that support them.

These new sanctions are highly significant for two reasons: Firstly, because US sanctions are much more powerful - penalties can be placed on an institution (e.g. bank) that deals with you and they can be cut out of the global banking system (that the US basically runs).

And secondly, because Amana is the most influential and largest builder of settlements in the West Bank - it's assets are estimated at $160m and annual budget in the $ millions. Amana's goal is 1m settlers in the Palestinian territory.

Already 500k+ Jewish settlers live in the West Bank. This year the UN's top court reaffirmed that all settlements are illegal - calling on Israel to end the occupation, dismantle the settlements, and evacuate the settlers. Amana is among the organisations pushing against this.

Amana is known for building large, town-style settlements that are *legal* by Israeli law - despite them being *illegal* by the UN/internationally. They're home to the majority of settlers in the West Bank and Amana has previously even worked with the Israeli gov to develop them

But the US sanctions recognise Amana's less well known activities - something that we investigated for the BBC this year. We revealed multiple cases of Amana loaning hundreds of thousands of dollars to settlers to build illegal 'outposts'.

Outposts are seen as illegal by *both* Israeli and international law. They're typically farms set-up by ideologically extreme, young, gun-toting settlers and are at the forefront of pushing Palestinians out of their homes in the West Bank - regularly using violence.

In our BBC documentary we play a leaked recording from a 2021 Amana meeting. In it, Amana's leader discusses their shift to supporting outposts as a way to more quickly, easily and cheaply seize large areas of the West Bank. He never responded to our questions. (h/t @peacenowisrael)

Defenders of Israeli settlements in the West Bank often seek to draw a distinction between violent outpost settlers and those living in the town-style settlements that are authorised by the Israeli government - the kind of settlement that Amana is known for.

The US sanctions will be a blow to the *whole* settler community, not just the extremists: the US has firmly placed Amana within the extremist camp. Here is the text from the sanction announcement, noting Amana's ties to violent parties and financing of illegal activity, including outposts.

Amana is led by this man, Ze’ev Hever. He speaks rarely to the press but is seen as one of the most important players in the settler movement, with access to Israeli ministers. In the 80s he was a member of the 'Jewish Underground' terrorist group and jailed for plotting to kill a Palestinian politician.

So what will the sanctions mean for Amana trying to raise funds and move money? And the 1000s of Israelis that pay them regularly? Anyone dealing with Amana financially could suffer the consequences of the same kind of sanctions as those on Russian oligarchs and IRGC commanders.

This morning, Ze'ev Hever made a rare public comment, saying the sanctions were based on 'slander' and expecting that Trump will reverse the decision. () inn.co.il/news/653727

Clearly, Biden pushing this through in his final weeks is a way to shift the dial before leaving office. Trump's pick for Israel ambassador Mike Huckabee doesn't believe in a future Palestinian state👇On Friday, he said again that Israel has "a right" to the West Bank.

In Israel, some politicians like far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are getting excited by Trump's election. Saying that it opens up the possibility of one of their dreams - Israel fully seizing the West Bank.

If Trump does lifts the sanctions on Amana and extremist settlers, it would be building on his previous actions. In 2019, his administration changed the US position on settlements - stating that they would no longer be seen as against international law. Biden then reversed it.

Whatever happens next, the US sanctions will remain important as they highlight Amana as the key player building settlements having direct links to illegality and violence on Palestinians. It undermines the distinction between the 'law-abiding' and the violent outpost settlers. It keeps focus on the organisations supporting settlers, rather than individuals themselves.

Other Western countries have taken part in the sanctions on the settler community and in recent weeks the UK has also sanctioned Amana. If Trump gives Israel the greenlight to annex the WB/go full settlement, it will set up a schism between the US and the rest of the Western world on the fundamental question of the Palestinian state.

Of course as a caveat to the above, the US and international community has for years been content with Israel's incremental annexation of the West Bank. It's only the post-October 7 settler violence that forced them to perk up.

To learn more about Amana, outposts, and settler violence, watch our investigation "Settlements above the Law"

Our BBC team on the investigation was @jaketacchi @ziadqattan @matthewcassel @simoncoxreports @muskhalili @BettinaWaked