EU Sanctions Israeli Settlers After Hungary Lifts Veto, Targets Hamas Leaders

The European Union approved new sanctions on Monday against Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, after Hungary’s new government lifted a months-long veto.

“The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers and leading Hamas figures”

Al Jazeera

EU foreign ministers agreed on the measure at a meeting in Brussels, with Kaja Kallas saying, "Violence and extremism carry consequences."

Al Jazeera

Kallas also said the package would include asset freezes and travel bans and would "also target Hamas members," while NPR reported the EU unanimously agreed to impose sanctions on both Hamas leaders and the Israeli settler movement.

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar denounced the decision as "arbitrary and political" and said Israel would continue to "stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the EU was "sanctioning the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank" as the sanctions package moved forward.

The Guardian reported that the full list of names had not been published following Monday’s agreement in principle and said it was understood not to include Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

Al-Haq

Israel’s government and right-wing figures condemned the EU decision, with Gideon Sa'ar calling it "arbitrary and political" and Itamar Ben-Gvir saying the EU was "antisemitic".

In parallel, the BBC reported that EU officials said seven settlers or settler organisations would be sanctioned and that the EU also agreed to sanction more representatives from Hamas, while Al Jazeera said the package targets three Israeli settlers and four settler organisations.

Even as the EU moved on sanctions, multiple outlets described continued disagreement over stronger economic measures, including calls to ban products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

“EU agrees sanctions on Israeli settlers over West Bank violence The twenty-seven foreign ministers of the European Union approved new sanctions on Monday on Israeli settlers over rising violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank”

BBC

The Guardian said there was still no consensus among the 27 member states on more hard-hitting trade sanctions, and it quoted Kallas saying, "I raised this issue that member states wanted this proposal."

The Washington Post reported that larger potential steps, including a French-Swedish proposal to halt trade with illegal Israeli settlements, "still lack sufficient support among E.U. members," while it said the sanctions would take effect once legal and technical work is complete.

In a separate assessment, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians said the EU’s sanctions package targets just three Israeli settlers and four settler organisations and warned that "these measures fall far short of the comprehensive economic pressure needed to hold Israel accountable."