US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. (AP/Cliff Owen)
Rubio’s statement comes a day after Biden declared an extension of the sanctions against “extremist” residents of Judea and Samaria.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Senator Marco Rubio, said he would lift sanctions against Judea and Samaria.
His statement comes a day after President Joe Biden declared an “emergency” extension of the sanctions against residents of Judea and Samaria, calling them “extremists.”
At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio responded to the question of whether the Trump administration would overturn the sanctions.
“Yes,” Rubio replied, adding, “Without speaking out of turn, I’m confident in saying that President Trump’s administration will continue to be perhaps the most pro-Israel administration in American history.”
On February 1, 2024, Biden signed an executive order authorizing federal authorities to freeze the assets and block transactions involving individuals identified by the administration as “extremist Israeli settlers.”
The order came in response to allegations from left-wing NGOs in Israel and reports from the United Nations that accused Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria of engaging in violence and harassment against Palestinian Arabs following the events of October 7.
On Tuesday, Biden issued a statement confirming he had signed an order extending the sanctions for another year, describing the actions of the sanctioned settlers as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security and foreign policy.
Rubio added that the visas of Hamas supporters would be revoked; “It’s a matter of common sense,” he said.
“If you apply for a visa to come into the United States and in the process of being looked at, it comes to light you’re a supporter of Hamas, we wouldn’t let you in,” he stated.
“Now that you got the visa and [are] inside the US and we realize you’re a supporter, we should remove your visa. If you could not come in because you’re a supporter of Hamas, you should not be able to stay. That’s how I view it.”
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