France went further by barring far right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country. Smotrich holds wide authority over settlement policies in the West Bank. All settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law. Israel rejected the measures outright calling them disgraceful political acts camouflaged as action against violence.
The numbers paint a grim picture. The UN documented 1,835 attacks by settlers against Palestinians in 2025 alone. Those attacks resulted in casualties or property damage across roughly 280 West Bank communities. At least seven Palestinians were killed and 832 injured. Both figures represent a 130 percent increase on the previous year.
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Settlement expansion has surged since Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in 2022 at the head of a pro settler coalition. More than 100 new settlements have been approved across the West Bank according to Israeli watchdog Peace Now. Some were previously unauthorised outposts that have since been made legal under Israeli law. About 700,000 Jews now live in roughly 160 settlements alongside an estimated 3.3 million Palestinians.
The joint statement from the five foreign ministers was blunt. They said violent settlers have been able to act with near impunity for too long. Settlement expansion and the creation of outposts continue with the support and facilitation of the Israeli government. In some cases settler violence takes place under the protection of Israeli security forces. They urged Israel to ensure meaningful accountability.
The UK announced sanctions on six entities and one individual. They face asset freezes, travel bans, and director disqualifications where appropriate. The entities include an association that provided financial support to settler farms and outposts. Also targeted was a construction company whose resources were used to destroy Palestinian land and property. For the first time UK official guidance will explicitly advise businesses against economic and financial activity in illegal settlements.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament that violent settler groups should not be profiting from land seized from Palestinians. She added that Israeli government condemnation of some settler violence rings hollow when there is scant accountability.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean Noël Barrot explained the Smotrich ban by stating he actively promotes annexation of the West Bank, the creation of new settlements, the recolonisation of Gaza, and the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Four leaders of settler organisations and 21 violent settlers were also barred. Norway banned 20 violent settlers while Australia published coordinated sanctions alongside New Zealand last week.
Israel’s foreign ministry condemned the measures as anti Israeli policies that fuel rampant antisemitism in the countries involved. They insisted the real aim was imposing a political stance on the right of Jews to settle in the Land of Israel. The Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the joint statement saying it rejected the occupation’s measures to annex the West Bank.
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