UK and allies sanction 'networks' enabling settler violence in West Bank
Britain, Canada, Australia and several EU members have announced sanctions against individuals and organisations they say enable settler violence in the West Bank. France will also bar far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich from entry; Israel has condemned the measures as "disgraceful".
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced asset freezes and travel bans against four individuals, two organisations and a transport company linked to settler violence in the West Bank. Canada and Australia issued joint sanctions lists. EU member states Belgium, Ireland, Spain and Luxembourg added parallel names to their national lists.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said Bezalel Smotrich would be barred from entering France over his "statements supporting settler violence". Israel's Foreign Ministry called the measures "disgraceful" and said ambassadors would be recalled for consultations. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank called for stronger accountability mechanisms.
Washington said it had not joined the sanctions but had begun assessing "individual perpetrators of violence". The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 970 incidents of settler attacks had been reported in the West Bank this year. The EU Council has put a broader sanctions package on its November agenda.
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