EU agrees on sanctions against Israeli occupation settlers over West Bank violence

BRUSSELS, May 11 (YPA) – The foreign ministers of the European Union on Monday reached a political agreement to impose a new package of sanctions on Israeli occupation’s settlers involved in attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, amid growing European anger over escalating settler violence and settlement expansion.

According to Reuters, citing four European diplomats, the sanctions target settlers accused of carrying out attacks and acts of violence against Palestinians, as pressure mounts within the EU to take concrete measures to curb Israeli violations in the occupied territories.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X that foreign ministers had “given the green light” for sanctions on the occupation’s settlers over violence against Palestinians, stressing that “extremism and violence have consequences.”

The move comes amid a sharp escalation in settler attacks across the West Bank, including raids on Palestinian villages, arson attacks on homes and vehicles, and assaults on farmers, alongside accelerating settlement expansion supported by Israel’s far-right government.

According to Palestinian official data, since October 2023 more than 1,155 Palestinians have been killed and around 11,750 injured in the West Bank, while nearly 22,000 have been arrested. The settler violence has also led to the displacement of 79 Palestinian communities, affecting over 4,700 people.

Palestinian figures indicated that the West Bank currently contains 192 settlements and 350 outposts, housing approximately 780,000 settlers, while the United Nations considers these settlements illegal under international law.

AA