Ireland leads push for EU-wide sanctions on violent Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank

IRELAND IS PUSHING for European Union sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee has warned that the EU “cannot continue to be bystanders” amid escalating violence and settlement expansion in Palestine.

McEntee is raising the issue today at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, where ministers are discussing the Middle East, Ukraine and the Western Balkans.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of today’s meeting that she expected ministers to reach political agreement on sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers.

Diplomatic movement on the issue had previously been blocked by Hungary under former prime minister Viktor Orbán, a close ally of Israel. However, officials now believe Budapest may no longer veto the measures following a recent change of government under Péter Magyar.

EU officials said seven settlers or settler-linked organisations are expected to face sanctions under the proposed measures.

McEntee said ahead of the meeting that she would call for firm measures in response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers and those who support them.

“As a community based on law, the EU cannot remain passive in the face of persistent breaches of international law and actions deliberately undermining the viability of the two-state solution,” McEntee said.

“I will be calling for concrete EU measures, including action to ban trade with illegal settlements and the suspension of the trade elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

“We must also move forward urgently with sanctions against violent settlers and those who enable them.”

The EU-Israel Association Agreement is the legal basis for trade relations between the bloc and Israel and has been in effect since June 2000.

It remains active, despite intense pressure from UN experts, NGOs, and several EU members to suspend it over human rights violations in Gaza by Israel.

While the EU is moving ahead with sanctions on Israeli settlers, there remains no consensus among the bloc’s member states to take further steps against Israel, such as curbing the Association Agreement.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels this morning, McEntee said she believed there was growing support among EU member states for action.

“The EU needs to act, that we cannot continue to be bystanders,” McEntee said.

“I think today most likely, and I hope that we will reach an agreement on sanctions against violent settlers.”

However, she suggested there may not yet be enough support among member states for broader measures such as suspending trade connected to illegal settlements or elements of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

“The longer this is delayed, the longer this goes on, the less likely Israel is to change its behaviour,” McEntee said.

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“That is what we’re trying to achieve here, while making sure that the European Union, in our actions, is aligned with international law.”

West Bank violence

The push from Ireland comes amid mounting international concern over escalating settler violence across the West Bank.

According to the UN agency OCHA, 1,088 Palestinians, including at least 238 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October 2023.

Forty-two Palestinians have been killed there since the start of 2026.

Palestinian and international activists have also warned of escalating settler attacks in recent weeks.

The International Solidarity Movement said three Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed by settlers in separate incidents near Ramallah in April.

The UN has also warned that the first four months of 2026 marked the most violent start to a year for settler violence since monitoring began in 2013.

All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.

Last week, Ireland joined 11 other countries and the EU in condemning the destruction of a donor-funded school in the village of Hammamat al-Maleh in the Jordan Valley.

The school, which was partially funded by Irish Aid, was demolished by Israeli settlers in April after months of reported intimidation, vandalism and attacks.

In a joint statement issued following a diplomatic visit to the area, Ireland, the UK, France, Germany, Canada and several other countries warned that escalating settler violence was driving Palestinian communities from their homes.

“We heard from the community how they were forced to leave in March because of sustained settler violence and intimidation, conditions that may amount to forcible transfer,” the statement said.

The destruction of the school sparked outrage in Ireland, with McEntee previously describing it as “not only unacceptable, it is indefensible”.

Wider EU action

Ireland, Spain and Slovenia jointly wrote to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas last month urging the bloc to revisit its relationship with Israel and consider stronger measures over alleged breaches of international law and human rights obligations.

In the letter, the foreign affairs ministers of all three nations warned that the EU “can no longer remain silent or inactive in the face of such breaches”.

“The European Union can no longer remain on the sidelines,” they wrote.

McEntee said today that the continued deterioration in Gaza and the West Bank meant the EU had to increase pressure on Israel.

“The violence has not decreased. In fact, it has only increased,” she said.

“We can’t be bystanders where innocent civilians continue to be attacked.”

Additional reporting from AFP

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