EU 'Unanimously' Agrees to Impose Sanctions Against Violent Israeli West Bank Settlers - Europe - Haaretz.com
European Union foreign ministers agreed in principle on Monday to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers for attacking Palestinians in the West Bank and to add further sanctions on members of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The decision marked the first time that the EU's 27 member countries had agreed to sanction violent Israeli settlers, following in the footsteps of the United States and Britain.
"A solid compromise has been agreed at the working level and I hope that this will be continued until full adoption soon, but the political agreement is there," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the ministers met in Brussels.
The EU sanctions involve a travel ban and asset freeze and are to come into force in the coming days when published in the EU Official Journal, a register of EU laws. EU citizens are also to be forbidden from doing business with the targets.
A previous EU attempt to sanction Israeli settlers failed after opposition from Hungary, a strong supporter of Israel. Sanctions require unanimity from all EU member states.
The decision of the 27 member states reflects a shift in policy led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent years, successfully staving off dramatic decisions against Israel.
Netanyahu strengthened diplomatic relations with several European countries, including Hungary, which agreed to block decisions that contradicted their interests. As decisions by the EU commission require unanimous approval, Netanyahu engaged in negotiations with member states within the EU to sway them against problematic decisions.
This included strengthening ties with the Visegrad Group, comprising Central European countries like Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. Additionally, occasional support was garnered from other countries to help block various decisions, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, or Greece.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Jerusalem, Sunday.Credit: Leo Correa/ REUTERS
A foreign diplomat, involved in recent discussions on the matter, struggled to determine if this was an isolated case or if it signaled a concerted effort by the EU to advance further decisions against Israeli policy.
According to him, the need to form a united front against Russia in the Ukraine conflict could convince supporters of sanctions against settlers to gain the backing of countries wary of Russia, some of which have abstained from the move so far. Subsequently, countries updated their diplomatic stance toward Israel in their decisions, and according to sources, "the Israeli side was not enthusiastic, to say the least, but showed understanding of the circumstances."
Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, responded to the EU's announcement: "The European Union is busy with sanctioning Jews, instead of fully supporting the elimination of evil. This is not new but it's still sad," he said. "The false BDS campaign against the State of Israel is working. A campaign designed entirely to besmirch the State of Israel. If there is violence, it is dealt with by the judicial system."
"There is one appropriate Zionist answer to this statement by the European Union - strengthening and establishing settlements in all parts of the Land of Israel," he added.
Last Thursday, the U.S. issued its second round of sanctions on Israeli settlers since U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order – including the first-ever sanctions on entire Israeli outposts in the West Bank.
The sanctions will freeze all U.S. assets held by the settlers and the outposts, blocking them from the U.S. financial system.
The two sanctioned outposts are Moshe's Farms and Zvi's Farms, and the three settlers are Neriya Ben Pazi, Zvi Bar Yosef, and Moshe Sharvit. The last two are the owners of the respective outposts.
Palestinian mechanic and garage owner Motaz Qassrawi shows damage following an attack by Israeli settlers in Huwara in the West Bank, last week.Credit: Zain Jaafar / AFP
Sharvit and Bar Yosef were previously included in the U.K.'s sanctions, that followed Biden's announcement of such measures. The U.K. noted that Sharvit had "used physical aggression, threatened families at gunpoint, and destroyed property as part of a targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities."
National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby also spoke of the decision, saying: "These individuals have engaged in repeated violence against Palestinians, and in some cases Israelis too, in the West Bank. And as we made clear before, extremist settler violence – that we've seen increased sharply since the attacks on October 7 – threatens peace, security and stability of the West Bank."
More sanctions on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas are to come as part of the agreement to sanction Israeli settlers, EU diplomats said.
EU sanctions have already been imposed on Hamas, which operates mainly in the Gaza Strip, and its representatives several times in the past. The EU classified Hamas a terrorist organization more than 20 years ago.