EU Council formally names 3 individuals, 4 entities it is sanctioning over settler violence

The EU Council on Thursday formally names the entities and individuals it is sanctioning for abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.

The list includes what the EU Council called extremist Israeli settlers and organizations that support them.

The statement confirms that sanctions will be leveled against Israeli NGO Regavim and its director Meir Deutsch “for the demolition of Palestinian property with the aim to expand the control of Israel to the whole West Bank.”

It also confirms that NGO Hashomer Yosh and its former president Avichai Suissa will be sanctioned for the organization’s efforts “supporting at least 28 violent outposts and settlements” and for Suissa’s role in “facilitating and encouraging serious human rights abuses in the West Bank.”

The statement also confirms that the Nachala Settlement Movement and its leader Daniella Weiss will be sanctioned over “coercive acts that lead to the forced displacement of Palestinians.” Nachala outposts are a “persistent source of settler violence,” it adds.

Finally, the EU Council says it is sanctioning the Amana settlement organization, which it says has “played a key role in initiating, financing, and facilitating at least 30 violent outposts and settlements” which have “forced widespread displacement” and “dispossession of Palestinian properties.”

In a separate statement, the Council says it will also broaden the scope of the EU’s sanctions on Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to also cover members of Hamas’s Political Bureau who promote, defend, or justify acts of violence.