Historic event

EU imposes sanctions against radical settlers

Israeli troops in the West Bank

(Bild: AFP)

The EU is imposing sanctions for the first time because of the violence by radical Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. According to Brussels, the measures are aimed at individuals and organizations allegedly responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The EU member states decided on the sanctions in a written procedure on Friday, as several diplomats confirmed to the German Press Agency. They will be imposed with the help of the EU sanctions instrument to punish serious human rights violations.

Individuals who are affected will no longer be allowed to enter the EU or do business with EU citizens. In addition, their accounts and other assets in the EU must be frozen.

Settlement construction increasingly radical
Attacks against Palestinians, like settlement construction in the West Bank, are seen as one of the obstacles to efforts to find a long-term peace solution in the Middle East conflict - especially after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7. The EU has already repeatedly condemned the acts of violence and the construction of settlements, but to date there has never been the necessary consensus for punitive measures.

The sanctions decision is therefore seen as a sign of a change of course in the EU's Israel policy - even if the punitive measures themselves have comparatively little impact on those affected.

Toothless or effective?
With the sanctions, the EU is following the example of the USA. The latter has already imposed punitive measures aimed at extremist Israeli settlers. Among other things, the USA accuses those affected of participating in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank.

The names of those concerned are to be published in the EU Official Journal shortly. According to dpa, the first step involves four individuals and two organizations. According to diplomats, the sanctions should ideally lead to the Israeli judiciary being more committed to prosecuting violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages and olive groves in future.