EU foreign ministers agree on plans to sanction extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank for the first time, multiple diplomats told dpa on Monday
The EU sanctions involve a travel ban and asset freeze and are to come into force in the coming days when published in the EU Official Journal, a register of EU laws. EU citizens are also to be forbidden from doing business with the targets.
A previous EU attempt to sanction Israeli settlers failed after opposition from Hungary, a strong supporter of Israel. Sanctions require unaniminity from all EU member states.
Tensions in the West Bank have skyrocketed in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel. Palestinians complain about increased violence by Israeli settlers against their villages and olive groves.