New UK sanctions target extremist Israeli settler outposts in West Bank

London: The UK on Tuesday announced sanctions against illegal outposts and organisations in response to what it described as continued violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, devastating Palestinian communities.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for a crackdown on settler violence in West Asia as he announced sanctions targeting three settler outposts and four organisations that have "supported, incited and promoted violence" against Palestinian communities in the West Bank. Settler violence is described as seeking to force Palestinians to leave their homes and seize their land for the construction of outposts, which the UK says are illegal under both international and Israeli law.

“When I went to the West Bank earlier this year, on one of my first trips as Foreign Secretary, I met with Palestinians whose communities have suffered horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers,” said Lammy.

“The inaction of the Israeli government has allowed an environment of impunity to flourish where settler violence has been allowed to increase unchecked. Settlers have shockingly even targeted schools and families with young children. Today’s measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights,” he said.

“The Israeli government must crack down on settler violence and stop settler expansion on Palestinian land. As long as violent extremists remain unaccountable, the UK and the international community will continue to act,” he added.

The measures follow what the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said was an “unprecedented” rise in settler violence in the West Bank over the last year amid an ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, with the United Nations (UN) recording over 1,400 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since October 2023.

The month of October sees the beginning of the olive harvest in the West Bank, an important time both culturally and economically for Palestinians. It has traditionally suffered spikes in violence as organised settler groups disrupt and attack Palestinians, the FCDO said. The UK’s sanctions are set out as part of wider efforts to support a “more stable West Bank, which is vital for the peace and security of both Palestinians and Israelis”.

The illegal settler outposts sanctioned this week include Tirzah Valley Farm Outpost, Meitarim Outpost, and Shuvi Eretz Outpost, which have been involved in "facilitating, inciting, promoting or providing support for activity that amounts to a serious abuse of the right of Palestinians not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".

The four organisations sanctioned are: Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, Hashomer Yosh, Torat Lechima and Amana.

According to the FCDO, Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva is a religious school embedded in the Yitzhar settlement known to promote violence against non-Jewish people. Hashomer Yosh is a non-governmental organisation that provides volunteers for illegal outposts, including Meitarim Outpost – founded by the extremist settler Yinon Levy, who the UK sanctioned in February.

Torat Lechima is described as a registered Israeli charity that has been documented as providing financial support to illegal settler outposts linked with acts of violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the FCDO said Amana operates in practice as a commercial construction company and has overseen the establishment of illegal outposts and provides funding and other economic resources for Israeli settlers involved in threatening and perpetrating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

Tuesday’s announcement marks the third UK sanctions package targeting persons involved in settler violence in the West Bank, following the first tranche announced by the FCDO in February and a second in May.