France, Britain and several allied countries imposed coordinated sanctions Tuesday over extremist settler violence in the West Bank, stepping up international pressure on Israel as they warned of a deteriorating situation on the ground.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway had joined the move. Paris also barred Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, four settler organization leaders and 21 violent settlers, he said in a post on X.
Footage shows a group of settlers entering a home in the Palestinian village of Yatma and setting fire to a house and car lot
Britain announced sanctions targeting networks it said were involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence. London said the measures, coordinated with Canada, France and Norway, were meant to disrupt financial flows that allowed extremist settler groups to act with impunity.
British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper was expected to tell parliament that settler expansion and violence are illegal and threaten the viability of a two-state solution and long-term security for Israelis and Palestinians.
The countries warned they were ready to take further measures if the Israeli government did not act urgently to address the situation. Britain also urged Israel to halt settlement expansion, curb settler violence, prosecute those responsible and ease restrictions on the Palestinian economy.
Israel rejects accusations that its forces shield settlers during attacks on Palestinians, saying such incidents violate military protocol and are investigated.
The sanctions came as a UN inquiry accused Israeli authorities of enabling settler attacks through financial and military support, claims Israel has previously rejected.