Six Western governments—Australia, the U.K., Canada, France, Norway and New Zealand—announced coordinated, targeted sanctions against Israeli settlers and settlement activity in the occupied West Bank in response to rising settler violence against Palestinians. France barred Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and said it will block several settler leaders and 21 accused settlers from entry. The U.K. announced sanctions on six entities and individuals tied to settlement financing or violent acts. Israel denounced the measures as disgraceful and warned they could be counterproductive.
Six Western Nations Announce Coordinated Sanctions Targeting Israeli Settlers in West Bank
FILE - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrives for a news conference about new settlement construction in the Israel-occupied West Bank near Maale Adumim, Aug. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A coalition of six Western governments on Tuesday announced a coordinated package of targeted sanctions aimed at Israeli settlers and settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, singling out a hard-line Israeli cabinet minister and other individuals accused of involvement in violence and settlement expansion.
Joint Announcement and Rationale
The foreign ministers of Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway and New Zealand issued a joint statement saying that "extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights." The statement said settlers have often acted "with near impunity" while settlement expansion and the creation of outposts have continued with the support or facilitation of the Israeli government.
Fahd Abu Haikal, 41 carries the body of his seven month old Palestinian baby boy Sam, who was killed on Friday when, according to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli soldiers fired at the vehicle carrying him and his parents in Tel Rumeida, during his funeral in the West Bank city of Hebron, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)(AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
"Extremist violent settlers, with the backing of their supporters, continue to attack Palestinians and abuse their human rights," the joint statement said.
What Each Country Announced
Each government announced specific measures under the coordinated plan, designed to be targeted rather than broad-based trade or arms sanctions.
France said it will bar Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering French territory as part of measures aimed at people deemed responsible for intensifying settlement activity and violence in the West Bank. Paris also said it will deny entry to four leaders of settler organizations and 21 settlers accused of violence.
A Palestinian man inspects the site of Israeli settlers attack in the West Bank town of Hawara, Nablus, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)(AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Smotrich "is actively promoting" annexation of the West Bank, expansion of settlements, re-establishment of settlements in Gaza and policies that risk the economic collapse of the Palestinian Authority—actions Barrot described as having harmful consequences for Palestinians.
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the U.K. will impose sanctions on six entities and on individuals involved in financing settlements or perpetrating violent acts. Cooper told the House of Commons the measures target "some of the most notorious individuals, the most significant settler entities, and the extremist figures in the Israeli cabinet who are inciting these acts."
Israeli ambassador to France Joshua Zarka gestures as he speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Paris, Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)(AP Photo/Nicolas Garriga)
Responses and Context
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the coordinated measures as "disgraceful measures" that it said "only serve to fuel antisemitism." Israel's ambassador to France, Joshua Zarka, warned that sanctioning government-related entities could be counterproductive and argued such steps risk empowering extremists.
Bezalel Smotrich, leader of a far-right religious party who oversees settlement policy, has defended aggressive expansion measures and has been linked in media reports to potential scrutiny by the International Criminal Court; the ICC generally does not publicly disclose arrest warrants or requests.
The coordinated action follows sanctions recently adopted by the European Union, in which 27 member states targeted both Hamas leaders and Israeli settler organizations and figures. More than 700,000 Israelis now live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem—territories captured by Israel from Jordan in 1967 and long sought by Palestinians as part of a future state.
Reporting: Associated Press reporters contributed to this story from Paris, London, Brussels, The Hague and the West Bank.
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