JULY 16, 2024
Ultra Zionist Ben-zion "Bentzi" Gopstein, chairman of the Israeli far-right wing organization Lehava, was sanctioned by the European Union on Monday. File Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA
July 16 (UPI) -- The European Union has again leveled sanctions at violent Israeli settlers and their associated outposts and organizations on accusations of systematically abusing the human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank.
The sanctions announced Monday target five people and three organizations, freezing their assets and barring them entry into the EU.
Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Golan Heights are widely regarded as illegal under international law.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, there has been greater attention placed on Israel's occupation. Embolden by the conflict, extremist settlers have been increasingly attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.
On Monday, the EU sanctioned Tzav 9, an group of violent Israeli activists founded in January 2024. The organization, which was sanctioned late last week by the United States, is accused of blocking trucks delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It also accused the group of conducting violent protests and attacking and destroying food trucks and their contents.
Ben-Zion "Bentzi" Gopstein was also hit with sanctions. He is the leader of Lehava, a radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group that was previously sanctioned by the European Union and blacklisted by the United States last week.
Moshe Sharvit and his Moshe's Farm in the Jordan Valley were sanctioned by the EU on Monday for having "engaged in settler violence and threats toward Palestinian residents in shepherding communities" close to his West Bank outpost, it said.
Zvi Bar Yosef and his illegal Zvi's Farm outpost were also sanctioned as he has "repeatedly attacked and committed acts of violence against Palestinians from the villages of Jibya, Kaubar and Umm Safa, causing severe injuries to some of them," it said.
Baruch Marzel and Isaschar Manne were the other two people targeted for sanctions by the EU on Monday.
"The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including abuse of the right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental integrity, the right to property, the right to private and family life, to freedom of religion or belief and the right to education," the EU said in a statement.
The sanctions come days after the EU and the rest of the Group of Seven nations last week condemned Israel's recent move to illegally recognize five unauthorized Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying it was undermining peace efforts.
Britain, Canada, the United States and the EU have previously imposed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers amid the war.
It also accused the group of conducting violent protests and attacking and destroying food trucks and their contents.
Ben-Zion "Bentzi" Gopstein was also hit with sanctions. He is the leader of Lehava, a radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group that was previously sanctioned by the European Union and blacklisted by the United States last week.
Moshe Sharvit and his Moshe's Farm in the Jordan Valley were sanctioned by the EU on Monday for having "engaged in settler violence and threats toward Palestinian residents in shepherding communities" close to his West Bank outpost, it said.
Zvi Bar Yosef and his illegal Zvi's Farm outpost were also sanctioned as he has "repeatedly attacked and committed acts of violence against Palestinians from the villages of Jibya, Kaubar and Umm Safa, causing severe injuries to some of them," it said.
Baruch Marzel and Isaschar Manne were the other two people targeted for sanctions by the EU on Monday.
"The listed individuals and entities are responsible for serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including abuse of the right of everyone to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental integrity, the right to property, the right to private and family life, to freedom of religion or belief and the right to education," the EU said in a statement.
The sanctions come days after the EU and the rest of the Group of Seven nations last week condemned Israel's recent move to illegally recognize five unauthorized Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying it was undermining peace efforts.
Britain, Canada, the United States and the EU have previously imposed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers amid the war.
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