The European Union imposed sanctions on “extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the European Council announced on Friday, listing four people and two entities.
According to the statement, the entities Lehava, a “radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group,” and Hilltop Youth, a “radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank,” were added to the EU sanctions regime alongside two leading figures of Hilltop Youth, Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered.
Neria Ben Pazi, who the EU’s governing body said has been “accused of repeatedly attacking Palestinians,” and Yinon Levi, who the council said has “taken part in multiple violent acts against neighbouring villages,” were also added to the listing.
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a post on X that “the EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians. We strongly condemn extremist settler violence: perpetrators must be held to account.”
Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said that she “welcomes” the sanctions, adding that the “recent escalation of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop; these settlers must be held accountable.”
Yered responded later Friday, saying he was “honored to be included in this respected list” and that “we shall continue holding onto the land of our forefathers — until the victory.”
