EU to Approve Sanctions on 'Violent' Israeli Settlers, Top Diplomat Says
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is 'hopeful' member states will move for a third sanctions package against violent West Bank settlers, which has been stuck for over a year due to Hungary's veto under former PM Orbán
The European Union's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Monday that she expects the European Union to approve a new package of sanctions against violent Israeli settlers and far-right groups in Israel.
"I expect a political agreement on sanctions of violent settlers. Hopefully we will get there," Kallas said at the opening of the EU foreign ministers' monthly meeting. Alongside the sanctions package, ministers are expected to discuss additional measures against Israel, though Kallas indicated the chances of advancing them are slim due to the lack of unanimous support or the qualified majority required for adoption.
The EU has previously imposed two rounds of sanctions on nine Israelis, including settler activist Elisha Yered, Yinon Levi, the settler who was filmed shooting Awdah Hathaleen to death in the West Bank village of Umm al-Kheir in July 2025, and settler activist Bentzi Gopstein.
They also included five extremist organisations, including Jewish supremacist group Lehava and Tzav 9, which blocks humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The third sanctions package, however, has been stalled in recent years due to Hungary's vetounder the Orbán government, which was replaced on Saturday by new prime minister Peter Magyar.
According to Martin Konecny, director of the Brussels-based European Middle East Project, which focuses on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and spoke to Haaretz, the third sanctions package "has been ready since autumn 2024 and single-handedly blocked by Hungary for a year and a half." He added that while "reluctantly" allowing the previous two packages to pass, it blocked the third following Trump's re-election.
He said it includes sanctions on seven Israeli individuals and entities.
Even if, as Kallas hopes, a political agreement is reached, it remains unclear whether the final list of sanctioned individuals and organisations will be decided on Monday. An EU source told Haaretz that Israel has been trying to influence the list, though the EU is reportedly determined to approve the package in principle on Monday.
Hungary's new deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Anita Orbán (no relation to the former prime minister), told parliament that Hungary would no longer use its veto as a tool to pressure the EU, according to Bloomberg. Hungary's ambassador to the EU is expected to represent the country at the meeting and may lift the veto, in line with the new declared policy.
Upon his election, Magyar announced that his government would pursue "pragmatic" relations with Israel and would "carefully" examine every EU decision related to Israel.
In addition to sanctions on violent settlers, ministers are also considering further measures, including a full suspension of the EU–Israel Association Agreement, an initiative led by Spain, and a proposal by France and Sweden to raise tariffs on settlement goods.
Trade-related measures do not require unanimity but a qualified majority, depending largely on the support of major states such as Italy and Germany, which blocked a similar proposal last month.