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The Biden Administration Formed an Anti-Israel Sanctions Team
(Tablet) Michael Doran - The Biden administration has assembled an interagency team of targeteers tasked with finding Israeli individuals and groups to sanction. In February, Biden issued an executive order claiming that violence by Israelis in the West Bank was threatening the stability of the entire Middle East. The order laid out the justification for the interagency team of targeteers and provided it with the necessary legal authorities to generate sanctions packages. The International Economics Directorate at the National Security Council (NSC) leads the effort. Ilan Goldenberg, who until April worked for Vice President Kamala Harris and has now moved to the Strategic Planning Directorate in the NSC, also plays a very enthusiastic role. In the State Department, the Office of Economic Sanctions Policy has the lead. It works closely with the Office of Foreign Assets Control at Treasury to prepare evidentiary packages. The team convenes frequently to meet the goal, set by the president and his top advisers, of rolling out packages of sanctions with regularity. Six tranches have been rolled out so far, averaging about one per month. The next tranche is already prepared. Biden did not create this sanctions machine in response to any development on the ground in the Middle East other than the surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. The writer is Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute.