Palestine hails EU sanctions on ‘extremist’ Israeli occupiers over West Bank violence

Palestine welcomed a decision by the European Union to sanction “extremist” Israeli occupier organizations and individuals involved in illegal settlement activities and violence against Palestinians.

“This is an important step toward accountability and upholding international law,” Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian Shahin wrote on the US social media company X.

She called for “concrete measures” to address Israeli settlement activity and attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.

On Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed on a new round of sanctions targeting Israeli occupiers and organizations accused of supporting illegal settlement activity in the occupied West Bank.

The occupied West Bank has seen escalating violence since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, including killings, arrests, home demolitions and settlement expansion, according to Palestinian officials.

At least 1,155 Palestinians have since been killed, about 11,750 injured, and nearly 22,000 arrested in the occupied West Bank, according to official Palestinian figures.