EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced the imposition of new sanctions on Israeli settler groups and their leaders in the West Bank on Monday, as Israel continues to be seen as having aggressively moved forward with its settlement plans across the area to attempt to force annexation.
“EU Foreign Ministers just gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians. They also agreed new sanctions on leading Hamas figures. It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery. Extremisms and violence carry consequences,” Kallas posted on X.
EU Foreign Ministers just gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians.
They also agreed new sanctions on leading Hamas figures.
It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery.
Extremisms and violence carry consequences.
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) May 11, 2026French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot also lauded the move against Israeli extremists and Hamas.
“It is sanctioning the main leaders of Hamas, responsible for the worst antisemitic massacre in our history since the Shoah during which 51 French people lost their lives, a terrorist movement that must imperatively be disarmed and excluded from any participation in the future of Palestine,” he wrote, referencing the French citizens who were killed during the Oct. 7 attacks perpetrated by Hamas in Israel.
The sanctions had been delayed due to a veto by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. However, newly elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar lifted Hungary’s veto, allowing the measure to finally pass.
Israel has also responded to the move, posting a message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office via the “Prime Minister of Israel” X account:
“As Israel and the US are ‘doing Europe’s dirty work’ by fighting for civilization against Jihadist lunatics in Iran and elsewhere, the European Union exposed its moral bankruptcy by drawing a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists.”
Prime Minister's Office:
As Israel and the US are “doing Europe’s dirty work” by fighting for civilization against Jihadist lunatics in Iran and elsewhere, the European Union exposed its moral bankruptcy by drawing a false symmetry between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 11, 2026Claiming European politicians have caved to “radical constituencies,” the Israeli prime minister says “sanctioning Jews for living in Judea and Samaria is unacceptable.” He then adds that Judea, which along with Samaria comprises the West Bank, is the “ancestral homeland” of Jews and “Israel will always protect the rights of Jews to live” there.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also posted his shock that the EU would compare Israelis to Hamas terrorists: “Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence,” he wrote on X.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to 3 million to 3.3 million Palestinians and 670,000 Jewish settlers. There are also 45,000 to 50,000 Christians. Most countries have labeled Jewish settlements in the area as illegal, with the EU also previously imposing sanctions on settlers.
Earlier this year, 20 countries issued a joint condemnation of Israel’s plans to extend its control in the West Bank and confirmed their illegal status. It stated that Israel’s actions “to advance unacceptable de facto annexation” are “a flagrant violation of international law, including previous United Nations Security Council Resolutions and the 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue their bombardment on southern Lebanon, with Netanyahu expanding his operations there to repel what he says is a threat to Israelis from Hezbollah. Not helping Israel’s image in the Western world have been incidents of IDF soldiers desecrating Christian symbols in Lebanon, including Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
