Six western countries impose coordinated sanctions over settler violence in West Bank

Six Western countries have imposed coordinated sanctions targeting networks involved in financing, facilitating and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The measures were announced on Tuesday jointly by France, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway amid a surge in settler attacks and record expansion of illegal settlements across the occupied territory.

“With our British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and Norwegian partners, we are today imposing new sanctions against those responsible for intensifying colonisation and violence in the West Bank,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a post on social media.

Barrot added that France had also barred Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, three settler leaders and 21 settlers from entering the country over violence in the West Bank.

In separate statements, the six countries warned that additional measures could follow if the Israeli regime failed to adequately address the situation on the ground.

Britain simultaneously urged its citizens and businesses to avoid economic and financial activity in Israeli settlements, illegal under international law.

“I have strengthened our business risk guidance to make it clear and unambiguous: if you are a British citizen or business, you should not conduct any economic and financial activities in illegal Israeli settlements,” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Parliament.

“We believe that violent settler groups should not be profiting from the land that they have seized from Palestinians,” Cooper added.

Israeli raids and settler attacks escalate across West Bank

Israeli forces and settlers have escalated their attacks against Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, with several incidents occurring overnight and into Saturday.

Cooper also said the Israeli regime had “condemned some settler violence, but that rings hollow when there is scant accountability.”

In a separate statement, the British government renewed its call on Israel to halt settlement expansion, curb settler violence, prosecute those responsible and remove restrictions hampering the Palestinian economy.

The announcement drew criticism from rights advocates, who said that the measures are not enough.

Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response manager, said that “targeting settler financing networks while the ministers who run this campaign face no consequences is not meaningful accountability.”

“The UK must sanction Benjamin Netanyahu, Orit Strock and Israel Katz as well as Yoav Gallant,” he said.

Benedict also called on Britain to ban “all trade with settlements and halt cooperation and investment relations enabling unlawful occupation and apartheid.”

Christian Aid voiced similar concerns. “It is pathetic merely to ‘advise’ British businesses against activity in illegal Israeli settlements when there are no real consequences for them,” the charity said.

“The UK Government must ban all trade and investment with Israeli settlements before Palestine is erased entirely,” said Jennifer Larbie, Christian Aid’s head of UK influencing.

A United Nations inquiry has found that Israeli authorities were directly involved in settler attacks that killed, injured and displaced Palestinians in the West Bank, while Israeli forces provided protection to settlers.

Last year, Britain joined several Western allies, including France and Canada, in recognizing a Palestinian state.

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