The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Norway have jointly imposed sanctions targeting individuals and networks involved in financing and carrying out settler violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The coordinated action, announced Tuesday, responds to escalating settler violence and extensive illegal settlement expansion in the region, according to official statements from the participating countries.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot confirmed the sanctions in a social media post, emphasizing the collective effort to address what the group described as intensified colonization and violence. France additionally imposed entry bans on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three settler group leaders, and 21 settlers linked to violence in the West Bank.

The six nations warned that further measures could be implemented if the Israeli government does not sufficiently tackle the situation on the ground. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper underscored this position in Parliament, urging British businesses and citizens to avoid financial activities in Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law. Cooper stressed that violent settler groups should not benefit economically from what she characterized as land seizures from Palestinians. She also criticized the Israeli government for inadequate accountability, despite condemnation of some settler violence.

The British government reiterated calls for Israel to halt settlement expansion, crack down on settler violence, prosecute perpetrators, and lift restrictions hindering the Palestinian economy.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the sanctions, describing them as disgraceful measures aimed at imposing a political position on the Jewish right to settle in the Land of Israel and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein stated that the sanctions masked political motives under the guise of addressing violence.

Human rights organization Amnesty International acknowledged the sanctions as a positive step but contended they were insufficient. Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK’s crisis response manager, argued that settlements and settler violence are state policies directed and funded by Israeli leadership. He called for sanctions to extend to prominent Israeli political figures including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset member Orit Strock, Israel Katz, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, labeling the current measures as lacking meaningful accountability.

The coordinated sanctions mark an uncommon unified approach by Western governments aiming to curb settler-related violence amid ongoing tensions in the West Bank.