The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers.
EU foreign ministers reached the decision on Monday, May 11th following a change in Hungary’s government, which had previously blocked the measures. According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas
It was high time we move[d] from deadlock to delivery.
Extremisms and violence carry consequences.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot claimed that the sanctions target “the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank, as well as their leaders,” adding that
these most serious and intolerable acts must cease without delay.
EU officials confirmed that seven individuals or organisations linked to settler activity will be placed on a sanctions list. The bloc also agreed on restrictive measures against representatives of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Israel strongly rejected the EU’s decision. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on X that the move was “arbitrary and political,” arguing that it targets Israeli citizens and organisations “because of their political views and without any basis.” He also stated: “Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland.”
The move follows months of Brussels-based hostility to Israel amid a serious existential threat to the Jewish State.
Monday also saw the EU impose sanctions on 23 state institutions and officials responsible for Russia’s “systematic unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.
