The Spanish Government is preparing restrictive measures against a group of settlers who have committed acts of violence against Palestinians
The Government of Spain is about to apply sanctions to a first group of twelve settlers from the West Bank who have carried out acts of violence against the Palestinian population. This was announced this Monday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, in his appearance before the Joint Commission for the EU. This is a pioneering measure at the European level, since there has been no consensus among the Twenty-Seven to adopt common action in this regard.
Albares explained that the Government has already “initiated the procedures to impose sanctions on a first group of 12 violent settlers from the West Bank.” “We know that silence and inaction always work against victims,” he stated. The minister recalled that Spain has been “firm and clear” since the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on October 7. “We have condemned Hamas terrorism, but we ask for strict respect for International Law and International Humanitarian Law in the response,” he added.
Spain demands a permanent ceasefire and the release of the hostages
The minister has also expressed his “strong condemnation” for the numerous deaths of civilians in Gaza, some 30,000, among whom there is a large percentage of women and children. Albares has demanded “an immediate and permanent ceasefire”, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of all hostages held by Hamas. Likewise, he has insisted on the need to continue financing the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), for which the Government has already disbursed an additional 3.5 million euros and is preparing a new, even larger package.
Spain is committed to the two-state solution
Albares has taken the opportunity to request the support of the deputies and senators who make up the commission to the Government in its defense of UNRWA and also for the materialization of the two-state solution. “Only the establishment of a realistic and viable Palestinian State, including the West Bank and Gaza under a single Palestinian national authority connected by a corridor, with access to the sea, with a port, with its capital in East Jerusalem, can definitively guarantee the security of Israel and peace in the region,” the minister said. “What I ask of you here is that you join this aspiration and help us build a definitive peace,” he encouraged the members of the Joint Commission.
The EU, blocked by Hungary to sanction extremist settlers
The Spanish Government’s initiative to sanction violent settlers in the West Bank comes after the EU has failed to reach an agreement on the matter. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, proposed last December to follow in the US’s footsteps and use the human rights framework to punish extremist settlers who have increased violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. “The time has come to move from words to actions and say that we are worried, that we are; that we condemn, that we do, and move on to take the measures that we can take against the acts of violence against the Palestinian populations in the West Bank. There are already too many acts of violence and too many deaths, especially after October 7,” said Borrell.
However, there is no “unanimity” for now in the EU to impose sanctions on “extremist settlers”. Hungary is blocking that proposal that Borrell made in line with the restrictive measures approved by the United States or the United Kingdom. For this reason, Albares announced in mid-December in Brussels that Spain will impose these sanctions “individually.”
US sanctions four Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank
The United States was the first country to impose sanctions against four Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank under a new executive order signed by President Joe Biden in early February. The four sanctioned, whose names will be announced later, are involved in riots, attacks on civilians or damage to property.
Those sanctioned will have all assets they may have in the United States blocked and they will be prevented from receiving transactions from Americans, in short they will be deprived of access to the American financial system. In addition, they are also prohibited from entering the United States. These sanctions are covered by a new executive order that Biden promoted this Thursday and which aims to punish people “who have perpetrated violence” and those “who have participated in repeated acts of intimidation and destruction of property, which has led to to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities.”
