The administration of US President Joe Biden has taken Israeli law into its own hands by issuing an executive order that compelled Israeli banks to freeze the assets of at least four Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, the so-called “West Bank.”

In the executive order issued last Thursday, the White House said it was imposing sanctions against “persons undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank.” Notably, the order only targets Jews. The assets of senior Palestinian Authority leaders, despite their demonstrable participation in incitement and violence against Israel, are left untouched.

The order goes on to falsely claim “high levels of extremist settler [read: Jewish] violence, forced displacement of people and villages and property destruction.”

For the truth of the matter, see: 

• The myth of ‘Jewish settler violence’
• New campaign against ‘settler violence’ smells like old antisemitism
• Israeli FM condemns ‘settler violence’ narrative as ‘blood libel’

The order specifically names four accused Israelis–Yinon Levi of Meitarim Farm; David Chai Chasdai of Givat Ronen; Einan Tanjil of Kiryat Ekron; and Shalom Zicherman of Mitzpe Yair–though it can and no doubt will be applied to others in the future.

The Biden administration said the order was part of a more “holistic approach” to the Middle East conflict, which is a subtle way of saying it won’t take Israel’s side, and must create balance by punishing Jews.

It should be pointed out, however, that none of the four men named by the White House have been convicted of crimes by the Israeli judicial system. Under the concept of “innocent until proven guilty” that is so championed by the Untied States, these men remain innocent. Unless the Americans are now signaling that they don’t trust the Israeli judicial system, which would be odd given Biden’s harsh criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform.

Biden can claim that his executive order has nothing to do with Israeli law because it only explicitly bars US individuals and companies from providing assets or services to the accused. But the president and his administration know perfectly well the implications of such an order in Israel, where the banking system is compelled to comply with US orders and regulations, or risk being cut off from the American financial system. Israelis with US citizenship have to sign additional documentation when opening bank accounts in Israel so that the IRS can keep tabs on them.

Given this situation, Bank Leumi, where Yinon Levi does business, immediately informed him that in light of Biden’s executive order, it was freezing his assets and closing his accounts.

“The executive order is a result of requests to Biden by the anarchist, anti-Zionist left, which hates the Jewish people and made up a bunch of stories about Israel’s pioneers,” Levi told the Kan public broadcaster on Sunday. But he also vowed: “Biden, who is unable to deal with the Houthis who murder American soldiers, doesn’t scare us. We will continue to settle the Land of Israel without fear.”

Bank Hapoalim, where Einan Tanjil and Shalom Zicherman have accounts, said it will take similar action soon for fear of getting on Washington’s bad side.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded by insisting that Israel is “not a banana republic of the United States,” and promising to take action to prevent the banks from harming Israeli citizens.