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Summary

Israel condemned on Monday the European Union's decision to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers following acts of violence against Palestinians, asserting that Jews have the right to live in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said on Monday that the European Union is 'anti-Semitic,' after its decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Ben Gvir, one of the most prominent far-right figures in Benjamin Netanyahu's government, said: 'Expecting an anti-Semitic union to make a moral decision is like waiting for the sun to rise in the west. While our enemies carry out attacks and kill Jews, the European Union tries to tie the hands of those who defend themselves.'

He added in a post on X that settlement 'will not be deterred: building, agriculture, defense and settlement throughout the land of Israel.'

Israel condemned on Monday the European Union's decision to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers over acts of violence against Palestinians, stressing that Jews have the right to live in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote on X: 'The European Union arbitrarily and politically chose to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis,' adding, 'Israel has defended, continues to defend, and will continue to defend the right of Jews to live in the heart of our homeland.'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc's foreign ministers reached an agreement on Monday on new sanctions targeting Israeli settlers who commit violence in the occupied West Bank, as well as leading figures in Hamas.

The sanctions package, which targets three settlers and four settler organizations whose identities have not yet been disclosed, had been stalled for several months due to objections from the previous Hungarian government, which lost the election last April.

European governments expressed concern over increasing reports of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Kallas said in a post on X: 'It is time to move from deadlock to delivery,' adding, 'Extremism and violence have serious consequences.'

With Péter Magyar appointed as prime minister of Hungary after winning the parliamentary elections on April 12, the European Union hopes to reach an agreement on these sanctions, which include freezing the assets of violent settlers in the EU and banning them from entering the bloc's territory.

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Sanctions against Hamas leaders, also stalled by the Hungarian veto, are expected to be approved as well.

The sanctions include seven extremist settlers or their organization, as well as 12 Hamas leaders and the movement itself.

The West Bank is among the territories where Palestinians seek to establish an independent state, while Israel cites what it says are 'historical and biblical ties to the land,' as well as what it considers its security needs.

The government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, which strongly opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, continues to accelerate settlement construction, while the rise in attacks by settlers on Palestinians has raised international concern.

The United Nations and most countries consider Israeli settlements built on West Bank land, occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, illegal, a view Israel rejects.

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More about: Kaja Kallas, Israeli settlement, European Union, imposition of sanctions