EU places violent West Bank settlers, organizations under sanctions

The European Union is imposing sanctions on radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank for the first time for acts of violence against Palestinians, diplomats have confirmed to dpa.

The agreement was finalized on Friday by a written procedure that allows member states to make decisions on urgent matters without sending ministers to Brussels.

The sanctions target four individuals and two organizations, diplomats say. Those subject to sanctions will no longer be allowed to enter the EU or do business with EU citizens, and any assets or accounts they have in the EU will be frozen.

The measures were imposed under an EU sanctions regime designed to punish human rights abuses.

The EU decision follows similar moves by the United States and Britain. In March, the US sanctioned three individuals and two "outposts," which refers to settlements not authorized by the Israeli government.

In February, the British government imposed sanctions on four individuals, including the leaders of the two outposts.

Diplomats told dpa the sanctions would ideally lead to the Israeli authorities taking a harder line against settler violence against Palestinian villages and olive groves.

The sanctions have been on the table for a long time, but they needed the consent of all 27 EU member states, and the Hungarian government blocked the move until last month. Part of the agreement meant imposing new sanctions against Islamist groups.

While the EU has long condemned the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal, this is the first time it has taken punitive measures against settlers.