EU foreign ministers reached a unanimous agreement on sanctions against violent Israeli settlers who harass Palestinians in the West Bank.
This was stated by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares to journalists after a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels.
“Today we unanimously supported sanctions against violent settlers who mistreat Palestinians in the West Bank,” Albares said.
This is the first time that 27 EU countries have agreed to sanction violent Israeli settlers, following the example of the US and Great Britain.
“A firm compromise was agreed on at the working level and I hope that it will be continued until it is fully adopted soon. There is a political agreement,” the EU’s high representative for foreign policy and security, Josep Borrell, told reporters.
The EU previously adopted sanctions against the militant Hamas movement after the attack on the southern part of Israel on October 7.
Diplomats said additional punitive measures would be imposed on Hamas before Israeli settlers were sanctioned.
This order is important for EU members close to Israel, such as Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, who wanted to make it clear that the two groups are not equal.
Hungary has offered the strongest resistance to sanctions against violent immigrants, but has recently changed its stance, diplomats said.
Sanctioned individuals will face travel bans and asset freezes, Srna news agency reported.
