Trump Rescinds Sanctions on Far-right Israeli Settlers

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: US President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: US President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP
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Trump Rescinds Sanctions on Far-right Israeli Settlers

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: US President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: US President Donald Trump speaks during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP

Among other Biden-era executive orders that President Trump rescinded Monday is one that authorizes sanctions on people who undermine peace in the occupied West Bank.
The Biden administration used the executive order to impose a handful of sanctions on extremist settlers accused of using violence against Palestinians who live in the West Bank after violence erupted after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
Settlers in the territory have celebrated the incoming Trump administration, believing it will take a more favorable approach to illegal settlements. During his first term, Trump took unprecedented steps to support Israel’s territorial claims, including recognizing Jerusalem as its capital and moving the US Embassy there, and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.



Trump Says Biden Left Him ‘Inspirational-Type’ Letter 

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Says Biden Left Him ‘Inspirational-Type’ Letter 

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said former President Joe Biden left him a "nice" letter inside the Resolute Desk at the White House, continuing an inauguration day tradition.

Trump told reporters he opened the letter on Monday evening and was thinking of making it publicly available. He said Biden advised him to enjoy his term and emphasized the importance of the role.

"It said, 'To Number 47,'" Trump said. "It was a very nice one .... just basically a little bit of an inspirational-type letter. Enjoy it. Do a good job. Important, very important how important the job is."

Trump, who was inaugurated to his second term in the White House on Monday, said he felt he should let people see the letter because it was "a positive" for Biden.

Trump found the handwritten letter in the desk on Monday during a ceremony in the Oval Office after a journalist asked if he had received a message from Biden. He held it up for the cameras, showing a handwritten "47," saying he would read it privately before deciding whether to release its contents.

Trump, the first president since Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s to serve nonconsecutive terms, left a letter for Biden when he took office in January 2021. Biden said it was a "very generous" letter but never released it publicly.

Former President Ronald Reagan started the modern letter-writing tradition in 1989, leaving one for his vice president and successor, George H.W. Bush, on stationery marked "Don't let the turkeys get you down."