Six nations sanction 31 over West Bank settler violence

On June 9, 2026, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, and Norway announced coordinated sanctions against networks financing and executing settler violence in the occupied West Bank. The UK targeted six entities and one individual.

France imposed entry bans on Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three settler group leaders, and 21 settlers. Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have previously faced entry restrictions from several European countries for their statements on Palestinians and support for settlement expansion.

The sanctions follow a July 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion stating that states should not recognize or assist Israel's occupation.

Scope of the measures The United Kingdom updated its business guidance to advise against economic activity in settlements but maintained support for trade with Israel within its 1967 borders. France's entry bans apply to the named individuals. The European Union has not imposed a blanket ban on trade with settlement-based entities, and goods such as dates, avocados, wines, and cosmetics produced in West Bank settlements continue to enter European markets.

" Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al Jazeera Arabic that the measures address public backlash rather than alter policy. Kristyan Benedict of Amnesty International UK said the sanctions leave "the architects untouched" and called for sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Mohanad Mustafa, an academic, stated that the sanctions do not target the Israeli government and create a narrative that extremism is limited to specific ministers. Israel rejected the sanctions. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oren Marmorstein called them "disgraceful measures" and an attempt to impose a political stance on Jewish settlement rights.