U.S. sanctions companies that build settlements in occupied West Bank

• The Israeli settler lobby and the Netanyahu government want President-elect Trump to revoke President Biden's executive order regarding settler violence and, as a result, cancel all the sanctions imposed in the past 10 months.
• Reversing the sanctions could potentially be one of Trump's first foreign policy actions.

Driving the news: The Department of Treasury and the State Department announced on Monday new sanctions on Amana, a private company that has played a key part of the expansion of settlements and establishment of illegal outposts in the West Bank.

• Sanctions were also imposed on private construction companies Binyanei Bar Amena and Eyal Hari Yehuda for their involvement in settlement activity in the West Bank.
• State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that Amana is the largest organization involved in settlement and illegal outpost development. The sanctioned firms, Miller, said, were directly engaged in the dispossession of private land owned by Palestinians in support of settlers.
• "We once again call on the Government of Israel to take action and hold accountable those responsible for or complicit in violence, forced displacement, and the dispossession of private land," Miller stressed.

State of play: The Treasury Department said it gave a license that allows a winding down period for completing financial transactions with the companies by January 10. That would apply, for example, to anyone who owes money to the companies in question or is owed money by them.

• The winding down period ends 10 days before Trump takes office.

The Treasury and State Departments also sanctioned three individuals:

• Shabtai Koshlevsky for his activity in the Hashomer Yosh organization that was sanctioned several months ago.
• Itamar Yehuda Levi for his role in the Eyal Hari Yehuda construction company.
• Zohar Sabah, whom Miller said had engaged in threats and acts of violence against Palestinians.