EU Unanimously Approves Sanctions Against Israeli Settlers and Hamas Leadership
The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers and leading Hamas figures. Consensus was reached on the sanctions packages at a meeting of member states' foreign ministers on Monday. The measures targeting Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank were long-awaited, having been blocked by the self-styled illiberal government of Hungary's former premier Viktor Orban.
That package targets three Israeli settlers and four settler organisations. However, their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed. "It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a social media post following the agreement. "Extremisms and violence carry consequences." Hungary's former longtime Prime Minister Viktor Orban had blocked the sanctions for months. However, the appointment of new PM Peter Magyar on Saturday saw the veto quickly lifted.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed the turnaround, saying that the EU was "sanctioning the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank." Israel quickly condemned the measures, asserting its position that Jews have the right to settle in the occupied West Bank, despite this being in violation of international law. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir denounced the EU as "antisemitic."
Barrot said the ministers had also decided to sanction the leadership of the Palestinian group Hamas, whose armed wing was a major participant in the attack on southern Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023 that killed around 1,200 people and saw 240 taken captive. A senior Hamas official accused the EU of political hypocrisy and racism. Excluding East Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank in settlements, among some three million Palestinians.
In 2025, the expansion of Israeli settlements reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking data. Since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, the West Bank has been gripped by almost daily violence involving Israeli troops and settlers. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, according to the UN. While the EU is moving ahead with the sanctions on Israeli settlers, there remains no consensus yet among member states to take further steps against Israel, such as curbing trade ties.