EU Sanctions Daniella Weiss and Seven Israeli Settlers Over West Bank Violence

The European Union imposed sanctions on Thursday on seven Israeli settlers and affiliated entities over what it called their "systematic violence" against Palestinians and the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The EU said the measures include blocking travel and freezing financial holdings, while also barring any EU citizen or company from conducting business or making funds available to the sanctioned individuals and organizations.

Al Jazeera

Daniella Weiss, described by the EU as a leading figure in the settler movement known for her inflammatory far-right stance, was among those targeted, and the EU alleged that as director she actively "plans, directs, and publicly supports" operations tied to coercive acts.

The EU statement also said more than 500,000 Israeli settlers now live in communities scattered across the West Bank, a territory Israel has occupied since 1967, and it said the settlements are deemed illegal under international law.

The EU’s sanctions package targeted Nachala Settlement Movement and its director Daniella Weiss, with the EU saying the movement "encourages and facilitates coercive acts" leading to the forced displacement of Palestinians.

The EU also sanctioned Israeli NGO Regavim and its director Meir Deutsch, and it said the organization lobbied for the demolition of Palestinian property and supported legal efforts aimed at expanding Israeli control over the West Bank.

Al Jazeera

In addition, the EU listed Hashomer Yosh and its president Avichai Suissa, accusing the group of providing logistical and volunteer support to violent settler outposts, and it sanctioned the Amana cooperative association of the settler movement Gush Emunim for initiating, financing and facilitating at least 30 violent outposts and settlements.

Under the restrictive measures described by the EU, the Council said the measures include an asset freeze and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to listed individuals and entities, while individuals are also subject to a travel ban to the European Union.

Israel condemned the EU sanctions, asserting that Jews have the right to settle in the occupied West Bank despite violating international law, while the EU said the Two-State Solution is increasingly under threat from illegal settlement expansion, violent outposts and intimidation against Palestinian communities.

The EU said the sanctions are meant to defend international law and to protect the viability of the Two-State Solution, and it described the targeted actions as contributing directly to violence, forced displacement and dispossession across the West Bank.

The EU said the sanctions were long-awaited and were blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, but gained momentum after Prime Minister Péter Márki‑Zay was appointed recently, lifting the veto.

The Al Jazeera report said the EU’s Thursday announcement was part of an EU sanctions package agreed earlier this month to punish Israeli settlers and Hamas leaders, and it added that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory according to the UN.