US sanctions based on false information, NGO says

(JNS) — According to Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nonprofit organization that assists farmers and protects agricultural state land in Judea and Samaria, the sanctions the United States imposed against it on Wednesday are based on false information provided by left-wing groups.

“We ask, why? And we have an answer,” Meir Bertler, the group’s foreign relations chief, told Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.

“The answer isn’t about the activities of Hashomer, which are legal and legitimate and coordinated with the government. It is about false and distorted information conveyed by left-wing groups,” he said.

Kan also published a statement from Hashomer Yosh, which read:

Hashomer Yosh “strongly condemns the government’s decision. This is a fundamentally wrong political decision. The organization operates according to the law and supports agriculture in the entire country. Sanctions on the guard are the same as sanctions on the State of Israel. Together we will stand firm, together we will support Hebrew agriculture in the Land of Israel.”

The State Department announced sanctions on Wednesday against the nonprofit and a community’s security coordinator, alleging that they are engaged in “extremist settler violence” in Judea and Samaria.

“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

“As part of the United States’ efforts to address the extreme levels of instability and violence against civilians in the West Bank, we are taking additional actions today against those who engage in or provide material support for violent activities there,” he said.

Hashomer Yosh allegedly supports the already sanctioned Meitarim Farm as well as other individuals and prevented 250 Palestinians from returning to their village in January. The State Department alleges that the group supports some 26 illegal farming outposts in Judea and Samaria.

“The Department of State is imposing sanctions on Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that provides material support to U.S.-designated outpost Meitarim Farm, and U.S.-designated individuals Yinon Levi, Neriya Ben Pazi and Zvi Bar Yosef,” said the State Department in announcing the sanctions.  

“After all 250 Palestinian residents of Khirbet Zanuta were forced to leave in late January, Hashomer Yosh volunteers fenced off the village to prevent the residents from returning. The volunteers also provided support by grazing the herds and purporting to ‘guard’ the outposts of U.S.-designated individuals,” the statement continued.

The department also placed sanctions on Yitzhak Levi Filant, the civilian security coordinator of the Yitzhar community in Samaria.

Zero confrontations

Betler said that the group has not been contacted about the details of the sanctions. There were “zero confrontations” with Palestinians as part of the organization’s activities, he added.

He cited funding the group receives from Israeli government ministries and coordination with authorities, rejecting the accusation that it operates as a “private police force.”

“Hashomer Yosh does not engage in violent activity of any kind. The Americans have made a mistake that we are hoping to change and working to change,” Betler said.

The Prime Minister’s Office said in response the U.S. move that “Israel views with utmost severity the imposition of sanctions on citizens of Israel. The issue is in a pointed discussion with the United States.”

The U.S. announcement describes Filant as “akin to a security or law enforcement officer,” but says he has also “engaged in malign activities outside the scope of his authority.

“In February 2024, he led a group of armed settlers to set up roadblocks and conduct patrols to pursue and attack Palestinians in their lands and forcefully expel them from their lands,” said Miller.

Wednesday’s sanctions are the latest actions taken under President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14115, which declared that “extremist settler violence” had reached “intolerable levels.” It further stated that such violence undermines “the foreign-policy objectives of the United States, including the viability of a two-state solution.”

The Biden administration has now sanctioned 23 Israeli organizations and individuals.

Lions’ Den, a Nablus-based Palestinian terrorist organization, is the only Palestinian entity that has been sanctioned under the order.