USA reverses position on bank accounts of "settlers"

It looks like finance minister Bezalel Smotrich's efforts to counter the biases of Joe Biden's bunch have paid off:

The Biden administration has clarified to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that local banks are not required to block accounts belonging to citizens sanctioned for “undermining peace, security, and stability” in Judea and Samaria, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday.

The move effectively cancels the practical consequences of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 1 Executive Order 14115, as none of the sanctioned individuals own assets in the U.S. or have intentions to travel there.

According to Israel Hayom, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the clarification after Smotrich threatened this week not to sign a waiver shielding two major Israeli banks with business ties to the Palestinian Authority from lawsuits stemming from charges of supporting terrorism.

What the treasury department did was hypocritical, if they have no intention of putting a stop to the accounts of Islamic terrorists by contrast. Smotrich was absolutely correct to oppose the measures. It's to be hoped now that any European countries that followed the example of the USA treasury department will reverse course as well.