"The European Union has agreed to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers and leading Hamas figures. Consensus was reached on the sanctions packages at a meeting of member states' foreign ministers on Monday. The measures targeting Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank were long-awaited, having been blocked by the self-styled illiberal government of Hungary's former premier Viktor Orban."
"That package targets three Israeli settlers and four settler organisations. However, their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed. It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a social media post following the agreement. Extremisms and violence carry consequences."
"Hungary's former longtime Prime Minister Viktor Orban had blocked the sanctions for months. However, the appointment of new PM Peter Magyar on Saturday saw the veto quickly lifted. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed the turnaround, saying that the EU was sanctioning the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank."
"Israel quickly condemned the measures, asserting its position that Jews have the right to settle in the occupied West Bank, despite this being in violation of international law. The European Union has chosen, in an arbitrary and political manner, to impose sanctions on Israeli citizens and entities because of their political views and without any basis, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on social media."
The European Union agreed to impose sanctions on Israeli settlers and leading Hamas figures after Hungary’s new government removed the country’s veto. Consensus was reached among member states’ foreign ministers on Monday. The measures targeting Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank had been blocked for months by Hungary’s former government under Viktor Orban. The package targets three Israeli settlers and four settler organisations, though their identities were not yet publicly disclosed. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the agreement ended deadlock. French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot welcomed the shift, saying the EU was sanctioning major Israeli organisations supporting extremist and violent colonisation. Israel condemned the sanctions, arguing Jews have the right to settle in the occupied West Bank and calling the EU action arbitrary and political.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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