The EU Has Announced It Will Impose Sanctions On Violent Illegal Israeli Settlers In The West Bank And Leading Hamas Figures
The sanctions target three Israeli settlers and four settler organizations, though their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed.
The EU has approved sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank over rising settlers' violence against Palestinians and leading Hamas figures.
Settlements and outposts in the West Bank are Israeli communities built on Palestinians’ stolen land and are all considered illegal and in breach of international law under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Since Israel began its genocide in Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged.
Between October 2023 and October 2025, more than 1,000 Palestinians, including 213 children, were killed by Israeli forces and settlers across the West Bank, and more than 5,900 Palestinians have been forced from their homes by settler violence, including about 2,000 in 2026 alone, according to the UN.
The EU, Israel's largest trading partner, had been trying to sanction violent settlers and settler organizations for some time by freezing settlers' assets and banning them from traveling to EU countries.
The EU had imposed sanctions in 2024, targeting five settlers and three entities responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.
It was also pushing for a new, expanded sanctions package, but kept getting blocked by Hungary’s former longstanding far-right leader Viktor Orbán, who is a close ally of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
EU foreign policy decisions require unanimity, and a single country can veto the whole 27-country bloc.
Orbán was voted out of power in elections on April 6, and his successor Péter Magyar was appointed prime minister on May 9 and quickly removed the veto.
On Monday, May 11, 27 EU foreign ministers met in Brussels, Belgium, and agreed to impose a travel ban and asset freeze on a group of Israeli settlers and organizations, as well as sanctions on Hamas members.
The sanctions target three Israeli settlers and four settler organizations, though their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed, according to Al Jazeera.
The sanctions also target Hamas’ leadership, who were responsible for the Oct. 7 attack.
"It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. "Extremisms and violence carry consequences."
Both Israel and Hamas have condemned the EU sanctions.
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
