European Union foreign ministers have agreed to introduce new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers and related organisations accused of involvement in rising violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, following a surge in attacks reported since the Gaza war began in October 2023.
The decision, reached on Monday, comes after months of delay within the bloc, with earlier efforts held back by political disagreements, including opposition from Hungary under its former leadership. That blockade has now been lifted following a change in government, allowing the process to move forward, though final legal and technical steps are still required before the measures take effect.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas welcomed the breakthrough, saying it marks a shift in approach. She stated it was "high time we move from deadlock to delivery... extremisms and violence carry consequences."
France also backed the move, with foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot writing on social media that the EU was "sanctioning today the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank".
Israel, however, strongly rejected the decision. Foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar described the move as unfair and politically driven. He said it was "arbitrary and political" and that Israel would continue to "stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland".
The sanctions plan is part of growing European concern over settlement expansion and settler-linked violence. Settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this position. The areas are seen by Palestinians as part of a future independent state.
Reports indicate that seven individuals or organisations linked to the settler movement are expected to be sanctioned. Among those named in Israeli media are Daniella Weiss, already under UK sanctions and known as the "godmother" of the settler movement.
Other reported targets include Nachala and Regavim, groups involved in promoting settlement expansion, as well as HaShomer Yosh and Amana, which are said to support unauthorised outposts through financing and assistance. Meir Deutsch, the CEO of Regavim, and Avichai Suissa, the CEO of HaShomer Yosh, are also reportedly included. Suissa had previously been sanctioned by the US in 2024 before being removed under Donald Trump.
Violence in the West Bank has increased sharply since the start of the Gaza war. The United Nations has recorded more than 1,800 settler attacks in 2025 alone, affecting around 280 communities and leading to casualties or property damage.
Recent incidents cited include reports of settlers forcing Palestinians to exhume a grave, which the UN human rights office described as "appalling". In another case, a Palestinian man was shot dead during a settler attack in Tayasir village. There have also been repeated attacks involving burning of homes, vehicles, and farmland.
Israel has expanded settlements steadily since occupying the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Around 160 settlements now house about 700,000 Israelis. Expansion has accelerated since the current Israeli government took office in late 2022 and following the outbreak of the Gaza war triggered by Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel.
Some EU countries are also pushing for restrictions on goods produced in settlements, although no bloc-wide agreement has been reached on that proposal.
Israel has dismissed comparisons being drawn in the sanctions debate. Gideon Sa'ar said Israel "firmly rejects the decision to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and organisations".
He added: "The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis."
"Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence."