Australia sanctions Israeli settlers over West Bank violence
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The news: Australia imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israeli settlers in the West Bank, as well as on a youth group, Hilltop Youth, for their involvement in violent attacks on Palestinians.
The sanctioned individuals include Yinon Levi, Zvi Bar Yosef, and Neria Ben Pazi, who were also sanctioned by the US, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
The context: Labor had, for months, faced calls to impose the sanctions following similar moves from key allies this year, including the UK, the US, Canada, France and Japan.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the sanctions were in response to severe offences, including beatings, sexual assault and torture leading to serious injury and death.
The numbers: With most international attention focused on Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, Israeli settler activity has surged in the West Bank, which is not controlled by Hamas.
Since the militant group’s 7 October attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, violence from Israeli settlers has increased significantly alongside military operations in the West Bank, killing at least 589 Palestinians, according to the Gaza-based Ministry of Health. In the same period, official Israeli reports state that at least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have died in attacks involving Palestinians in the area.
What they said: “We call on Israel to hold perpetrators of settler violence to account and to cease its ongoing settlement activity, which only inflames tensions and further undermines stability and prospects for a two-state solution,” Wong said.
The sources: Minister for Foreign Affairs statement, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Sydney Morning Herald
