EU sanctions Israeli extremist settler-linked entities, individuals

The Council of the European Union (EU) said on Thursday that the EU has adopted restrictive measures on Israeli extremist settler-linked entities and individuals over serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, reported Xinhua. In a statement, the Council said the designations target four entities and three individuals, including extremist Israeli settlers and organizations that support them. Among those listed is Daniella Weiss, director of the Nachala Settlement Movement, which the Council said encourages and facilitates coercive acts leading to the forced displacement of Palestinians. The Council said the listed organizations and individuals have contributed to violence in the West Bank through activities including establishing or supporting settlement outposts, lobbying for the demolition of Palestinian property, leading to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities and the dispossession of Palestinian property. In a separate statement on Thursday, the Council said the EU has also expanded the scope of its restrictive measures regarding the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to also target 10 members of the Political Bureau of Hamas. With the latest listings, the restrictive measures under this framework now apply to 21 natural persons and three entities, the statement said, adding that the applicable restrictions to those listed are the travel ban and the asset freeze, which includes the prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to those listed, either directly or indirectly. Israeli settlements remain one of the major obstacles to Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Israel occupied East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Since the outbreak of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict in October 2023, settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank has become more frequent.