The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell says he would propose sanctions against the “enablers” of Israeli settler violence against the Palestinians in the wake of another deadly attack on a village in the occupied West Bank.
“Day after day, in an almost total impunity, Israeli settlers fuel violence in the occupied West Bank, contributing to endanger any chance of peace,” Borrell wrote on X on Friday.
“The Israeli government must stop these unacceptable actions immediately,” he wrote, vowing to “table a proposal for EU sanctions against violent settlers’ enablers, including some Israeli government’s members”.
Any such sanctions would require unanimous approval from the EU’s 27 member states.
The Thursday attack on Jit, near Neblus, left one Palestinian dead and several others wounded.
Many countries have condemned the attack, even the regime’s supporters in the West, including France, UK, Germany and the US.
The United Nations said the deadly attack was “horrific”, adding that “by and large, we are seeing impunity” for such attacks.
“It was horrific. What is striking and important to remember is that yesterday’s killing in Jit is not an isolated attack, and it is the direct consequence of Israel’s policy of settlement in the West Bank,” UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a press briefing.
Hamas has offered condolences to Palestinians over the nighttime Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank, saying the assault is part of Israel’s “fascist extermination plans”.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said “the armed collective attack” by settlers on the village of Jit in the occupied West Bank is “organized state terrorism”.
The ministry condemned the brutal attack committed by “the terrorist settler gangs” on the village located in the east of the city of Qalqilya.
“We demand the imposition of deterrent sanctions on the racist colonial system, the dismantling of the terrorist settler militias, and the prosecution of their members,” the statement said.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Gaza genocide started on October 7.
Since then, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Zionist soldiers or settlers.
Source: High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – Josep Borrell
