Israeli parliament speaker slams Biden’s ‘counterproductive’ sanctions on some West Bank settlers

The Biden administration’s executive order sanctioning Israelis in the West Bank was “counterproductive,” the speaker of Israel’s parliament told The Post.

“I think it doesn’t help anyone to think that Israel does not deal with this problem,” said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana. “There is a very small minority that acts in a criminal way which harms Israel and which we deal with through our law enforcement authorities.”

Ohana was addressing Biden administration’s sanctions earlier this month on Israelis living in the disputed territory who have been accused of violence toward Palestinians.

The speaker spoke to The Post Thursday, as he led an Israeli delegation to the United States this week which included visits with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in Washington D.C. and Gov. Hochul, Cardinal Dolan and United Nations boss António Guterres in the Big Apple.

Ohana was also dismissive of Biden’s enthusiasm for a two-state solution.

Amir Ohana, the Speaker of Israel’s parliament, led a delegation to the United States this week. Helayne Seidman

“So called solution,” he sniffed. “I don’t think this is a solution.”

While Ohana more or less hued to the official Israeli line of staying out of US domestic politics, frustrations have been running high with Biden in the conservative government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In recent days, Israeli’s national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said Biden’s focus on humanitarian aid to the Palestinians was hindering the war effort against Hamas, and that former president Donald Trump would be better for Israel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said Biden’s executive order targeting Israelis was “antisemitic.”

Ohana said that reforming the education of Palestinian children and building up their economy had to come before any consideration of formal statehood.

Amir Ohana met with senior U.S. lawmakers including House Speaker Mike Johnson. REUTERS

Ohana reiterated Israel’s longtime war aim vowing a “total unmitigated defeat for Hamas.” Part of that victory, Ohana said, would the systematic assassination of top Hamas leaders — something Netanyahu has vowed to pursue.

While Hamas’ rank and file commanders have been battered in Gaza, the terror organization’s top leaders — like Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashal — famously live in Qatar. Both have net worths in the billions of dollars, stolen largely from aid funds earmarked for their people.

When asked if Hamas leaders living abroad were legitimate targets for assassination, Ohana responded emphatically “yes, absolutely.” In January, a Hamas leader in Lebanon, Saleh Arouri, was killed in an airstrike in Beirut. The attack was widely credited to Israel.

Ohana declared that he was for the assassination of Hamas leaders abroad. Getty Images

The Knesset leader said he was undeterred by the recent failure of an Israel aid bill in Congress and that his meetings with U.S. leaders in Washington D.C. had left him hopeful.

“We need all the help we can get, and I have to say that I was very encouraged that both sides of the aisle agree on that and they say, ‘Look, we have been here, we’ve been around for a long time, we are absolutely certain that one way or another you will receive it and it won’t take too long,” Ohana said.

Before Hamas’ Oct 7 terrorist attack — Israel’s relationship to the region had been flourishing. In the waning days of Trump administration, the nation inked normalization agreements with Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates. Many said an Israel-Saudi Arabia deal was imminent.

Ohana insisted the recent devastation caused by Hamas would not derail the broader peace process.

“No Arab country is backing off the Abraham Accords,” Ohana said. “We hear positive statements from Saudi Arabia saying that the normalization with Israel is still on the table. But to move further, we must eradicate Hamas.”

Ohana — who is openly gay and lives with his husband and two kids in Tel Aviv — said he was mystified by American progressives’ attacks on his country.

“The vast majority of the Arab world, they have still a way to go regarding freedoms, not only for LGBT, but freedom for women, and freedom of speech,” he said. “If you are for democracy, you’re on the wrong side of this of the sidewalk, if you’re against Israel.”