Settler violence: US imposes visa bans, EU considering sanctions

Violence by settlers has more than doubled since October 7, as the Israel-Hamas war inflames tensions.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday he would propose sanctions against Jewish settlers responsible for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Borrell was speaking after EU foreign ministers debated possible next steps in their response to the Middle East crisis triggered by Palestinian militant group Hamas's deadly October 7 attack on Israel from Gaza.

Last week the Biden administration imposed visa bans on Israeli settlers who engaged in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, in the most punitive measure undertaken by the U.S. toward Israel in decades.

"We have not seen a sufficient level of action by the government of Israel that hold people properly accountable. They have taken some steps — they've put some people in administrative detention. We have made clear that when the facts support it, people should be prosecuted if they've committed acts of violence," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

While much international attention has focused on the cross-border assault and Israel's subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza, European officials have also expressed increasing concern about rising violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Borrell said he would propose a special sanctions program to target Hamas — backed by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Italy — but the EU also had to act against violent Israeli settlers.