The German federal government has acknowledged the new sanctions imposed by several partner countries against Israel, which were levied in response to settlement violence in the West Bank. When questioned by a spokesperson for the Foreign Office on Wednesday to whether Germany was offered the chance to participate in these sanctions beforehand, the official stated that the countries’ action would not be further evaluated or commented upon.
The federal government has expressed a clear rejection of the violent actions carried out by extremist settlers. The spokesperson confirmed, “Our stance on this is completely clear. That is why we decided on sanctions against extremist settlers and settler organizations in the EU a few weeks ago. And we are contributing constructively to this discussion.” Germany’s strategy involves relying on the European Union and EU sanctions, adding, “And we stand by that.”
The new, coordinated sanctions were announced the previous day by the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand. These measures are designed to disrupt the financial flows that have enabled extremist settler groups to operate with impunity in the West Bank. The sanctions target numerous organizations and individuals.
