WEST BANK — The European Union sanctioned four entities and three individuals linked to the Israeli settler movement. These sanctions were imposed as violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank increased.
The sanctioned entities included Regavim, which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich partially founded. Meir Deutsch serves as the director of Regavim. The U.K. and Canada had previously sanctioned Smotrich for his alleged role in supporting violence in the occupied West Bank. He was born in a settlement in the occupied Golan Heights.
Additional sanctioned entities included the Amana cooperative association, which provides logistical and financial support to settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Nachala movement, which held conferences to discuss settlement expansion into occupied Palestinian territory, was also sanctioned. The E.U. sanctions covered Yinon Levi, who is accused of killing Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen in Masafer Yatta.
United Nations monitors documented lethal attacks by Israeli settlers in the South Hebron Hills since October 2023. Since that time, an estimated 1,168 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank. An estimated 12,666 Palestinians have been injured.
Palestinian villages near Nablus and Ramallah experienced damage to homes, vehicles, and olive groves during nighttime raids. Bedouin herding communities in the Jordan Valley were displaced following campaigns of intimidation. Conflict-related displacement in the occupied West Bank has affected approximately 33,000 people since October 2023. Israel detained nearly 23,000 Palestinians in the West Bank without charge since October 2023.
Israel announced plans to establish the E1 settlement to link occupied East Jerusalem with the Maale Adumim bloc. Plans outlined by Smotrich state the E1 settlement would prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
Daniella Weiss characterized the European penalties as ridiculous and banal. Tahseen Alayan, deputy director of Al-Haq, said, "It's gotten much worse since October 2023. They now have the courage to attack into the heart of densely populated Palestinian villages." Alayan added, "If you buy a sheep, they will steal it. If you build a house, they will destroy it. If you buy a car, they will burn it." He stated, "The violence does not happen in a vacuum. This is an extension of the Israeli government; settlement is at the core of their identity." Alayan noted, "Even if they are ever prosecuted, the sentences rarely reflect the severity of the crime. These people return to their homes and are seen as heroes."