Bank Leumi is the first Israeli bank to act in response to U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to impose sanctions on four Israeli settlers. Additional banks are expected to take similar steps to avoid legal implications in the United States.
Hagar ShezafAssa Sasson
Feb 4, 2024
Bank Leumi, an Israeli bank, suspended the account of Yinon Levy, an Israeli settler, who was targeted by the first round of U.S. sanctions, which was signed off on by U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday.
This is the first case of practical implications of the American sanctions by an Israeli body. Additional Israeli banks are expected to take similar measures against all four settlers targeted by the U.S. sanctions.
Bank Leumi holds offices in Europe and the U.S., and in Levy's case, the U.S. sanctions could have jeopardized the bank if it had not taken action. Yinon Levy refused to comment, and the bank also has yet to release a statement.
Another Israeli bank, Bank Hapoalim, also has accounts of two individuals targeted by the sanctions, although it has chosen not to freeze their accounts as of yet. Bank Hapoalim responded, saying it "respects international sanctions and will comply with any legal order. We cannot comment on specific cases due to banking secrecy."
The American sanctions may affect the American funding going to settlements through various organizations and private individuals.
When the U.S. imposes sanctions, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sends a notice to all banks, warning them that using an American system such as SWIFT or American software such as WhatsApp or Office to violate the sanctions also constitutes a criminal offense.
Israeli banks have signed a pledge to comply with other countries' sanctions. If it is discovered that they have violated sanctions, they risk losing access to critical international systems, as Russia did at the start of the war with Ukraine.
The sanctions imposed on Levi, alongside fellow settlers David Chai Chasdai, Einan Tanjil, Shalom Zicherman, were published on Thursday. The U.S. State Department stated that Levi led a group of settlers who engaged in actions creating an atmosphere of fear among Palestinian communities in the West Bank.
"Levi regularly leads a group of settlers who attack Palestinians, set fire to their fields, destroy their property and threaten them to harm them again if they do not leave their homes," the State Department said.
Biden's executive order empowers the U.S. to impose sanctions on those who target Palestinian civilians through violence, intimidation, property destruction, or terror. It also allows for the imposition of sanctions on leaders or government officials in any entity, including government ministries, who were involved in any "relevant harmful activity".
According to sources in the Biden administration, the president is mulling sanctions against Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. However, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that the administration has no plans at this stage to impose sanctions on Israeli government officials.
Far-right MK Zvi Succot of Religious Zionism party visited Levy on Sunday and said, "it makes no sense that an Israeli bank should freeze an account of someone who is salt of the earth just because of leftist accusations that made it to the Americans … I will demand an urgent hearing at the Knesset on the matter."