Melike Pala
31 March 2026•Update: 01 April 2026
BRUSSELS
The EU on Tuesday reiterated its call to advance further restrictive measures against Israeli occupiers and entities supporting them, amid rising violence in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking at a midday press briefing, EU Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said, in response to Anadolu's question, that the bloc's position "has been taken at the highest level," including by leaders at the European Council.
"We strongly condemn Israel's unilateral actions aiming to expand its presence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," El Anouni said, referencing the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, which declared such actions unlawful.
He urged Israel to reverse these decisions, comply with its obligations under international law, and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories.
Addressing occupier violence, El Anouni said the EU has "strongly condemned and will continue to do so the growing settler violence against Palestinian civilians, including violence against Christian communities."
"We reiterate our call again in terms of the work forward on further restrictive measures against extremist settlers and entities, together with organizations that are supporting them," he said.
However, he underlined that adopting sanctions requires unanimity among EU member states.
"We have 26 member states that have been in favor of the adoption of further sanctions against extremist settlers. But we need to have 27 out of 27," El Anouni added.
Occupier attacks in the West Bank have escalated in recent weeks, with eight Palestinians reportedly killed by occupier gunfire since late February, according to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission.
About 750,000 Israeli occupiers live in hundreds of settlements across the West Bank, including around 250,000 in East Jerusalem. Occupiers carry out frequent attacks on Palestinians that rights groups said aim to displace them forcibly.
Violent attacks have intensified across the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, encompassing killings, demolitions, displacement, and occupier expansion.
On Jerusalem's holy sites, El Anouni reaffirmed the EU's position, calling for "full preservation and full respect of the status quo."
His remarks came after reports that Christian leaders were barred from accessing the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, in what the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem described as the first such incident in centuries, preventing clergy from celebrating at the holy site.
Israeli authorities also continue to bar Muslims from Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam, for the fourth consecutive week, keeping it closed since late February under emergency measures linked to the war with Iran.
