Biden prepared to impose visa bans on Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in West Bank

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that Washington is prepared to impose visa bans on Israeli settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, marking the first time that the Biden administration has publicly considered such a move.

"I have been emphatic with Israel's leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable," Biden said in an op-ed in the Washington Post.

"The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank."

Since 7 October, the number of settler attacks against Palestinians has doubled, according to the UN humanitarian office (Ocha), from incidents ranging from from livestock theft to direct physical violence.

Ocha said on Friday that more than "one-third of these incidents included threats with firearms, including shootings".

"In nearly half of all incidents, Israeli forces were either accompanying or actively supporting the attackers," Ocha said.

In the West Bank, which has been militarily occupied by Israel since 1967, nearly 500,000 settlers live among a population of three million Palestinians.