EU agrees sanctions on violent West Bank settlers and Hamas figures

BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose a new round of sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank as well as senior Hamas figures, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Kallas said the package had been held up for months by Hungary’s previous government, which lost last month’s election. The measures cover three settlers and four settler organisations, though their identities have not yet been made public.

European governments have voiced concern over increasing reports of settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The latest EU move comes amid continued scrutiny of violence in the territory.

It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery.

In a post on X, Kallas added:

Extremisms and violence carry consequences.

Israeli reaction

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised the decision in a post on X, saying the bloc had acted unfairly and for political reasons.

chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis.

He also objected to the EU’s decision to sanction both Israeli citizens and Hamas members under the same package.

Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence.

There was no immediate response from Hamas following the announcement.

Violence in the West Bank

The occupied West Bank has seen near-daily violence since the Gaza war began in October 2023, involving Israeli troops and settlers.

Palestinian officials and the United Nations have also said that deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank have increased since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on February 28.

The EU decision reflects growing concern in European capitals over the worsening security situation in the occupied territory and repeated reports of violence against Palestinians.

The sanctions package marks a shift after months of internal deadlock within the bloc, with Kallas presenting the agreement as a move from prolonged delay to implementation.