The European Union has approved a new package of sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers and settler organisations operating in the occupied West Bank, ending a deadlock that had persisted for nearly two years. The agreement, reached on Monday by the bloc's 27 foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, includes asset freezes and travel bans against seven settlers or settler organisations, as well as additional sanctions against Hamas members.
The breakthrough came after a change of government in Hungary. The former prime minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Israel, had repeatedly blocked the EU's push for expanded sanctions. His successor, Péter Magyar, who was sworn in last Saturday, indicated willingness to support the package. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas welcomed the development, saying it was "high time we move from deadlock to delivery" and that "extremism and violence carry consequences." French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the move as sanctioning "the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank."
Israeli media have reported that those targeted include Daniella Weiss, known as the "godmother" of the settler movement and already sanctioned by the United Kingdom, along with settler organisations Nachala, Regavim, HaShomer Yosh and Amana — groups that promote, finance, or assist unauthorised settlement outposts. The EU had previously sanctioned five individuals and three entities in 2024, making this an expansion of an existing framework rather than an entirely new instrument. Technical and legal steps must still be completed before the measures are formally imposed.
Israel strongly rejected the decision. Foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar called it "arbitrary and political," arguing that Israeli citizens were being penalised "because of their political views and without any basis." He also condemned what he called an "unacceptable comparison" between Israeli citizens and Hamas. Israel has built around 160 settlements housing some 700,000 people in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since occupying those territories in the 1967 Middle East war — settlements considered illegal under international law. The UN documented more than 1,800 settler attacks in 2025 that resulted in casualties or property damage across approximately 280 communities.
Monday's decision reflects growing pressure within the EU to act more forcefully, though significant divisions remain. Countries including Spain, Ireland and Slovenia have pushed for broader measures such as suspending the EU-Israel association agreement or sanctioning far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, while others including Germany and Italy have been reluctant. A separate debate over whether to ban or impose high tariffs on settlement goods is also ongoing but has yet to reach consensus. Expanding settlements, the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp noted, are incompatible with a two-state solution — an outcome that remains the stated goal of most EU member states.