EU Approves New Sanctions on Israeli Settlers and Hamas Leaders

Overview

• EU foreign ministers meeting Monday in Brussels approved a package targeting Israeli settlers, groups that back West Bank settlement activity, and senior Hamas figures.
• EU officials said the list of sanctioned individuals and entities will be published later, leaving the specific targets undisclosed for now.
• Israel condemned the move, with the prime minister’s office calling it “moral bankruptcy” and minister Itamar Ben-Gvir saying it will not alter settlement policy.
• The vote advanced after Péter Magyar replaced Viktor Orbán in Hungary, removing a veto that had blocked further EU action for months.
• The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since October 2023, and Palestinian authorities report more than 1,100 deaths along with thousands injured and detained in areas most countries consider illegally settled under international law.