EU formally approves first sanctions on violent Israeli settlers

The European Union formally sanctioned the first violent Israeli settlers this Friday for “serious human rights abuses” against Palestinian citizens. Four people and two radical organizations have been included in the Union's blacklist. It is only half of the initial list that was handled and less of those who want to sanction countries like Spain. But the mere fact of having managed to agree on these first names, which required the unanimity of a very divided bloc when making any gesture that could be interpreted as a criticism of Israel, is an important change.

According to the decision published in the

Official Journal of the EU

, the Twenty-seven consider that the sanctioned settlers and entities are “responsible for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians, including torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.” It also accuses them of an “indiscriminate violation of the right to property and to private and family life” of Palestinians in the West Bank.

The European sanctions imply the freezing of any assets that those identified may have in European territory, the prohibition of any type of commercial transaction with them and, also, the denial of entry to the EU space.

The growing violence of the most radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank and its potential to further fuel the Gaza tinderbox has long been worrying Europe and also the United States, Israel's main ally. The latest example of the tense situation in the area occurred last Saturday: a few hours before the Iranian attack against Israel that ended up gaining international attention – and concern –, hundreds of radical settlers attacked Palestinians with firearms in several towns in West Bank, in revenge after the discovery of the body of an Israeli teenager who disappeared a day earlier in the area. The result of the violent action of the settlers, who also burned cars and homes, was at least one Palestinian dead and two dozen more injured. The high representative for Foreign Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, who has decisively promoted sanctions against the settlers, declared himself “dismayed” by the “violence in the West Bank” and condemned both the murder of the young man and the “continued escalation” of attacks in the Palestinian territory.

The entities now sanctioned are Lehava, a “radical far-right Jewish supremacist” group, and Youth of the Hills, another extremist group composed of “members known for violent actions against Palestinians and their populations in the West Bank.” Two of the leaders of these organizations, Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered, are also on the list of radical settlers now sanctioned by the EU. The other two named are Neria Ben Pazi, accused of having repeatedly attacked Palestinians in the towns of Wadi Seeq and Deir Janir since 2021, and Yinon Levi, who has participated in “multiple violent acts” against Palestinian towns near the illegal settlement in Mitarim. where he resides, notes the EU. Ben Pazi has also been sanctioned by the United States since March, accused by Washington both for his violent actions in Wadi Seeq and for “having expelled Palestinian shepherds from hundreds of acres of land.”

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The decision to sanction violent Israeli settlers has not been easy due to the resounding refusal in the first months of the conflict by a small but firm group of countries, especially Austria and the Czech Republic, to take any step that could be interpreted as criticism. to Israel. Hence the significance of the decision, taken in March, to approve a first package of restrictions, which was interpreted as a qualitative change in the European position in the face of the increasingly complex and violent conflict in the Middle East.

At the same ministerial meeting in March, a new package of sanctions against Hamas was also decided. But to avoid any comparison between the terrorist organization and Israeli settlers, something that worried some European capitals, it was agreed that the two packages would be announced separately: the new restrictions against Hamas were published in the

EU Official Journal

last Friday. and, now, the first ones against Israeli citizens are also entering.

In the case of Hamas and its allies, the EU announced last week the inclusion of three entities in its global sanctions regime on human rights violations. These are, as announced by the EU Council, the Al Qasam and Nukhba organizations – the armed wing and elite force of Hamas – and the Al Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The EU accuses these three entities of having participated in the attack against Israel on October 7 that sparked the current conflict in the region and, specifically, of having committed “widespread actions of sexual and gender violence” during said aggression.

The decision to sanction violent settlers was taken after several countries, such as Spain, announced their intention to apply their own punishments if Brussels did not reach an agreement on the matter. But most decisively, the United States, Israel's main political and military ally, also imposed its own first sanctions in early February on four settlers who engaged in "intolerable" acts of violence against Palestinians or Israeli activists, as well as threats and attempts to destroy or seize their property. The Government of Joe Biden also opened the door to sanction more people who, according to the official order, with their actions “constitute a serious threat to the peace, security and stability of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel and the broader region of the Middle East. ”.

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