Key facts
- Britain, Canada, France, and Norway imposed coordinated sanctions on Israeli networks involved in financing and enabling violence in the occupied West Bank.
- The sanctions target extremist settlers and aim to hold them accountable for attacks against Palestinian civilians.
- The measures follow escalating settler violence intended to undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.
- France banned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and four settler organization leaders from entering the country.
- Israel's foreign ministry rejected the sanctions, viewing them as an attempt to impose a political stance on Jewish settlement rights.
Britain, Canada, France, and Norway have announced coordinated sanctions targeting Israeli networks involved in financing, enabling, and carrying out violence in the occupied West Bank. The measures, coordinated with similar actions by Australia and New Zealand, aim to hold extremist settlers accountable for attacks against Palestinian civilians and undermine prospects for a Palestinian state.
These sanctions follow a period of escalating settler violence, which international bodies and most countries consider a violation of international law. The Israeli foreign ministry rejected the measures, characterizing them as an attempt to impose a political stance on Jewish settlement rights rather than a response to violence. Yisrael Ganz, head of the Yesha Council, called for Israel to dismantle the Palestinian Authority and strengthen its sovereignty in the West Bank.
Specific actions include France banning Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four settler organization leaders, and 21 violent settlers from entering the country. Britain's sanctions target financial flows that have allowed extremist settler groups to act with impunity and include a construction company accused of destroying Palestinian property. Canada's measures also target a construction firm and its owners. The joint statement warned of further action if the Israeli government does not address the situation on the ground, with concerns raised about Israel's plan to build a settlement east of Jerusalem known as the E1 project.