The United Kingdom, along with the foreign ministers of Canada, France, and Norway, has announced new, coordinated sanctions targeting Israeli settlers in the West Bank. These measures were unveiled on Tuesday as a direct response to the “unprecedented expansion of settlements and the escalating violence perpetrated by settlers in the West Bank.”
The purpose of these sanctions is to disrupt the financial pathways that have allowed extremist settler groups to operate freely and with impunity in the region. The sanctions are directed against numerous organizations and specific individuals. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper argued that both the settlement expansion and the related violence are illegal, posing a fundamental threat to the viability of a two-state solution, as well as to long-term peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis.
Furthermore, the British government reiterated its demand that Israel cease expanding settlements, curb settler violence, prosecute those responsible, and lift existing restrictions on the Palestinian economy. The UK added that if the situation does not improve, the government is prepared to implement further actions.
