The European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on four Israeli settler organizations and three individuals for “serious and systematic human rights violations” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, reports Anadolu.

The European Council announced that the measures were adopted under the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, following a political agreement reached by the EU’s top diplomats on 11 May.

Among those sanctioned are the Nachala Settlement Movement and its director, Daniella Weiss.

“Through its activities, the movement encourages and facilitates coercive acts that lead to the forced displacement of Palestinians. Nachala outposts impede access to Palestinian agricultural and pastoral lands and have been a constant source of settler violence,” the Council said. European.

The EU also imposed sanctions on the Israeli non-governmental organization Regavim and its director, Meir Deutsch, accusing the organization of lobbying for the destruction of Palestinian property and trying to expand Israeli control throughout the West Bank.

According to the European Council, Regavim also campaigned for the demolition of an EU-funded Palestinian primary school in the village of Jabbet al Dhib near Bethlehem.

The sanctions also target the non-governmental organization Hashomer Yosh and its head, Avichai Suissa. The EU said the organization coordinated volunteers and provided support for violent “settlement posts” in the West Bank, including recruiting armed volunteers involved in attacks against Palestinians.

The Amana cooperative association, linked to the Gush Emunim settler movement, was also included on the list.

The EU said Amana played a central role in financing and facilitating at least “30 settlement posts” linked to violence and displacement of Palestinian communities.

Under the sanctions, all listed individuals and entities are subject to an asset freeze within the EU, while sanctioned individuals are also banned from traveling to EU member states.

Israeli settlers in April carried out 540 attacks against Palestinians and their property across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to a monthly report by Palestinian Commission for Resistance to Colonization and the Wall.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, the West Bank has witnessed an escalation of attacks by the Israeli army and settlers, especially in rural and Bedouin areas near settler settlements and outposts.

Source: prizrenpost