France announced sanctions against 28 Israeli settlers whom it accuses of committing human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in the occupied West Bank.
The 28 people would be banned from entering France, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.
“These measures come as violence perpetrated by settlers against the Palestinian population has intensified in recent months. France reaffirms its firm condemnation of this unacceptable violence,” the ministry said in a press release.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of France, Poland and Germany issued a joint statement, saying violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank was unacceptable and “must be sanctioned.”
France said it would also seek sanctions at the European level.
“Settlement is illegal under international law and must stop,” the ministry said.
“Its maintenance is incompatible with the creation of a viable Palestinian state, which is the only solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side, in peace and security.”
France’s move follows similar sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom, which have expressed concerns about settler violence and rising attacks against Palestinians.
On Monday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced sanctions against four Israeli nationals accused of attacking Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“Extremist Israeli settlers threaten Palestinians, often at gunpoint, and force them to leave land that rightfully belongs to them,” Cameron said.
“This behavior is illegal and unacceptable. Israel must also take stronger action and end settler violence. Too often we see commitments made and commitments made, but not followed through. »
The United Nations has recorded more than 516 settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, when Israel launched an attack on Gaza after the Palestinian group Hamas carried out attacks in southern Israel.
At least 1,139 people were killed in the Hamas attack, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on official Israeli figures.
At least 28,473 people have been killed during Israel’s intense bombings and ground offensives in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Raids by Israeli soldiers and settlers on West Bank towns and villages have increased since the outbreak of the Gaza war, killing hundreds of Palestinians.
Settler attacks often take place with the presence or participation of Israeli security forces.
According to the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, Israeli authorities have systematically failed to hold Israeli settlers accountable for their actions.
Over the past 18 years, police have failed to investigate at least 81% of open cases.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said the fact that the Israeli military also protects “armed settlers” gives settlers a sense of impunity to “wreak havoc and attack Palestinians wherever they are.”
Palestinians often say there is no point in complaining to the police, Ibrahim said.
“They would tell us that the judge and the criminal belong to the same entity, to the same system,” she said.
At least 700,000 Israelis live in fortified Jewish-only settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. They are considered illegal under international law.
Settler attacks include shootings, stabbings, stone throwing, severe beatings, as well as arson and serious damage to homes, vehicles and farmland.
