EU’s top diplomat ‘hopeful’ bloc will vote to sanction violent West Bank settlers

With a new regime in Hungary, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expects political consensus on blacklisting seven settlers or settler organizations during Monday’s meeting

European Union countries will likely be able to reach an agreement on Monday on sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said before a meeting of the bloc’s ministers of foreign affairs.

“I expect political agreement on the sanctions on violent settlers, hopefully we will get there,” Kallas said, while admitting that it was still not entirely clear the required unanimity would be found for the proposals.

Kallas said the change of government in Hungary, with the ouster of former prime minister Viktor Orban by rival and EU supporter Peter Magyar, paved the way for the veto to be lifted.

EU officials said seven settlers or settler organizations were set to be blacklisted. The bloc was also set to sanction representatives from the Hamas terrorist group.

Attitudes toward Israel among EU member states, already hardened over its conduct in the war in Gaza, sparked by the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, stiffened further after Israeli ground operations were launched into Lebanon in March — in response to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group’s missile fire on Israel — and after the Knesset passed a new law on the death penalty for Palestinian terror convicts in the West Bank.

Last month, several EU states rejected a push by Spain, Slovenia and Ireland to suspend the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Israel.

Extremist settlers, sometimes in mobs, have been recorded assaulting Palestinians, torching cars, and damaging property. Arrests in such cases are rare, and convictions are even less common, though the attacks take place on a near-daily basis.

Critics accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violent attacks, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years.

The IDF has also faced criticism for often standing by while attacks unfold — with troops sometimes actively participating — or failing to prosecute those responsible.

IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth recently warned about the phenomenon, which he termed “Jewish terrorism.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir last month issued a sharp condemnation of settler violence, calling attacks against Palestinian civilians and soldiers in the West Bank “morally and ethically unacceptable” and a major strategic impediment.