EU imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers, Hamas leaders

Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) member states have agreed to impose sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers in the Palestinian West Bank and top leaders of the Palestinian independence movement Hamas. The foreign ministers reached the agreement on the ‘sanctions package’ at a meeting held on Monday (May 11).
The EU’s sanctions on Israeli settlers were long-awaited due to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Until now, the initiative had been blocked by the outgoing Prime Minister of EU member state Hungary, Viktor Orban. After a change of power in the country, Peter Mazier has now become the prime minister. Now, the previous complications regarding the EU sanctions have ended. The EU will impose sanctions on three Israeli settlers and four settler organizations. Their names have not yet been released.
Following the agreement on the sanctions, EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas posted on social media, saying, “It is time to break the deadlock and implement (the sanctions).” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot welcomed the agreement. “The EU is imposing sanctions on major Israeli organizations that support extremism and violent settlement activity in the West Bank,” he said.
“These extremely serious and intolerable measures must be stopped immediately,” the French foreign minister wrote in a social media post. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the EU’s move on illegal Jewish settlers. “The EU is imposing sanctions on Israeli citizens and institutions based solely on political ideology, without any basis, arbitrarily and politically,” he wrote in a social media post.
Israeli hardline leader and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gavir has sharply criticized the EU as “anti-Semitic.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said that EU leaders have also agreed to impose sanctions on Hamas’ top leadership.