EU sanctions group that tries to block aid to Gaza, far-right activists Gopstein, Marzel
Sanctions targeting Gopstein, leader of the anti-miscegenation group Lehava, come after EU sanctioned the group itself in May; two settlement outposts also penalized
The European Union on Monday announced a new round of sanctions on Israeli far-right activists and organizations in the West Bank, targeting five individuals, two illegal outposts, and one organization.
The bloc sanctioned far-right activists Bentzi Gopstein and Baruch Marzel, as well as settler activists Moshe Sharvit, Zvi Bar Yosef, and Isaschar Manne, and Sharvit’s and Bar Yosef’s illegal outposts, known as “Moshe’s Farm” and “Zvi’s Farm,” respectively. Manne also founded an illegal outpost in the West Bank, which the EU noted in its statement announcing the sanctions.
It also targeted Tzav 9, an activist group that opposes the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip amid the war with Hamas, and frequently attempts to sabotage it, sometimes violently.
That organization, as well as the two illegal outposts, and all of the individuals apart from Marzel, have already been sanctioned by the United States.
As a result of the EU’s sanctions, the people listed on Monday will be subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU. Both direct and indirect funding of any of the entities is prohibited, along with providing funds to the individuals.
Marzel, an American immigrant to Israel who lives in Hebron, has long been involved in far-right politics, and was a close associate of Meir Kahane, the extremist rabbi who called for the expulsion of all Arabs from Israel before he was assassinated.
In its statement on Monday, the EU said it targeted Marzel for “openly calling for an ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians,” though it was not immediately clear what specific statements this was in reference to.
Gopstein, a close ally to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, is the founder and leader of the anti-miscegenation group Lehava. He was convicted by an Israeli court in January of incitement to racism.
The group, which opposes intermarriage and tries to stifle public activities by non-Jews in Israel, was sanctioned by the EU in May.
In the statement, the EU accused the three settler activists of making threats and engaging in violence against Palestinians, adding that Sharvit’s activity “has escalated since October 2023.”
The situation in the West Bank became markedly more volatile this past year, following the Hamas terror group’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including abuse of the right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental integrity, the right to property, the right to private and family life, to freedom of religion or belief and the right to education,” the EU said in its statement.
The EU, as well as the US, Canada, the UK, and France have all sanctioned violent settlers in recent months, in the wake of a surge of incidents in the West Bank since October 7, and a 15-year high in 2023.
The EU’s sanctions on Israelis came following other measures to target funders of the Hamas terror group.
Jacob Magid and agencies contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.